


A different life

by Totalpanik



Category: White Collar
Genre: AU, Child Abuse, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Suicide, kid!Neal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 58,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Totalpanik/pseuds/Totalpanik
Summary: AU Neal is a six year old boy living on the street.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first try at a fanfiction and I'm really nervous about it but here we go  
> I know that similar stories already exist but I love them and I wanted to try to create my own  
> The first chapter will be a trial run and if someone actually likes it then I will continue  
> Title and summary may change in the future
> 
> This work has not been proofread by a beta and English is not my first language so all mistakes are mine.

The autumn night was unusually cold and the thin jacket did nothing to protect him from the frigid wind.  
His small legs were tired, his eyelids were heavy, and all he wished for was a warm bed to curl up in.  
His heart ached knowing no warm bed was waiting for him, and no one to hug him or make him hot chocolate. There was only a dirty blanket and a hard matress waiting for him.  
The small boy suddenly stopped as his blue eyes met kind brown ones across the street.  
He didn't know if it was the urge to warm his fingers in the soft golden fur or the kind appearance of the dog's owner that made him cross the street and timidly meet them.  
The dog emitted a bark before launching at him, causing him to take a step back in fear.  
"Satchmo!"  
The dog's owner reprimanded the dog before taking a good look at the shivering, small boy.  
"He's not dangerous honey"  
Her voice was soft and warm, it reminded him of his mother.  
The boy carefully got his hand out of his pocket and buried it in the dog's soft fur.  
The dog licked the boy's dirty face and the boy in question let out a soft giggle, all fear forgotten.

The woman crouched down in front of the boy, her blue eyes filled with concern.  
"Isn't it a little late for you to be out, sweetie? Where's your parents?"  
He was asked that question a lot, but people often asked because they felt like they had to, not because they actually cared. This woman seemed different though , she appeared to be genuinly concerned.  
If he told her the truth he would be taken away, thrown into another home with another uncaring soul that only wanted money, he could not let that happen.  
"My daddy's in that house over there"  
He said pointing at a nearby house that still had it's lights on  
"I went out without permission"  
The lie slipped easily off his tongue, the young boy was already a skilled liar and the small smile that followed the lie seemed to convince the woman that he was telling the truth.  
"Maybe I should walk you over there"  
He quickly shook his head  
"I'll be fine"  
The boy placed a kiss on top of the dog's head before he left them, hurrying to the house before the woman could follow him.  
He opened the heavy gate and walked up the stairs of the foreign house. The boy hid behind a wall, counting to one hundred before daring to peek.  
The coast was clear, the woman and the dog was gone and he quickly escaped the garden and hurried along.

That night as he was sleeping in a corner in an abandoned warehouse he dreamed about the woman. She gave him hugs, she served him hot chocolate and she sang him to sleep in a soft, warm bed with the dog by his feet.  
The woman was so much like his mother, the brown hair, blue eyes and the soft, loving voice.  
He missed his mother so much but he knew that he could never see her again. She was with the angels now, just like everyone else he'd ever known, well except for his dad. His father had barely been around, he hated his son since his first breath and the small boy had only recevied harsh words and abuse from the man. He did not know what a father's love felt like.  
His father had hurt him and then abandoned him like he was nothing. According to his father that was exactly what he was, nothing.

When the sun rose over New York the small boy was already on the move, sneaking around in central park like a lion on a prowl.  
A business man sat down on a park bench, putting down a sandwich as he lifted his phone and started to type.  
Quiet as a mouse the boy made his way over to the park bench and in a swift move he took the sandwich before he started to run as fast as his little legs could carry him.  
Angry yells behind him urged him to continue and he didn't stop until they ceased and he found a bush he could hide behind.  
The small hands unwrapped the sandwich and he started to eat it.  
The sandwich was gone within seconds, the hungry little boy hadn't even slowed down to actually taste it.  
The taste didn't really matter though, it was food and that was good enough for him.

Even though it was still early, the park was already filled with people and the boy decided to try to make some money. Money was after all necessary to survive.  
Most of the people didn't even notice the small boy as he walked among them, so it was easy for him to go undetected. It was harder for him to try to grab the wallets though, some of the people walked way too fast for him.  
The two he managed to get was an old woman's and a slow walker's, too busy with their phone to notice the little boy and his sticky fingers.  
The small boy looked around and his eyes landed on his third target, it was almost too easy.  
The short, balding man was reading the newspaper, wallet all too visible in his back pocket. His small hand reached out for it and eased it out of the pocket without the man noticing it.  
A proud grin spread across his face as he opened the wallet, only to find that it was empty.  
"You're good, kid"  
The man turned around and looked down at the little thief.  
He adjusted his glasses and smiled  
"But you've got a lot to learn"  
The boy's mind was screaming at him to run and never look back but his legs just wouldn't listen. There was something about the man that made him feel more interested than scared.  
"How old are you anyway? Four?"  
The man had the guts to believe that he was four years old, the boy scoffed  
"I am six"  
He answered with a confident voice.  
"Aren't you a little too young to be out here alone? And pickpocketing on top of that?"  
"My dad is just over there"  
He said, pointing in the direction of some men standing in a queue for a newspaper stand.  
"Listen kid, you're quick with the lies but you can't fool me"  
Who was this strange man who seemed to be able to read the boy like an open book?  
"Please don't tell anyone, I can't go back into the system"  
The boy pleaded, figuring it was pointless to try to conjure up another lie.  
The man studied the tiny, dirty boy and he felt for the child because he knew what it was like to be an orphan, to be an unwanted little child.  
"I won't tell anyone"  
He promised causing the boy to release a breath he didn't know he was holding  
"Thank you mister"  
"You can call me Mozzie"  
The man held out his hand for a polite greeting and the small hand grabbed it and shook it  
"I'm Neal"  
The boy said and he already knew that this stranger named Mozzie would become his friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note Thank you for all the positive response, it really made me happy.  
> I decided to continue and I've spent some time writing and rewriting this chapter. I'm not totally sure about it but hopefully you will like it.
> 
> Maybe I should mention that the characters will probably be OOC. Again all mistakes are mine.

The small boy squirmed in his seat, while fidgeting with his napkin.  
He felt like everyone was watching him, but everytime he looked around people were minding their own business.  
“Have you decided?”  
Neal lifted his head and looked at Mozzie who had patiently been watching him.  
The menu was laying on the table, completely untouched. Despite the fact that he had already eaten the sandwich he was still hungry.  
He was a growing boy after all, and he rarely missed an opprtuniy to eat, well except maybe for now.  
The few dollars in his pocket was supposed to last him as long as possible, and even the cheapest item on the menu was too expensive for him.  
As if reading his mind Mozzie suddenly said  
“If it's money you're worried about, don't be. This is my treat”  
“Thank you, Mozzie”  
Neal felt his eyes water, it had been long since anyone offered him a proper meal.  
Mozzie had invited the small boy to tag along to a nearby diner, since the child was just skin and bones.  
Neal prided himself with being able to read people and sense their character, especially grown ups. As a street kid it was necessary to learn how to seperate the good from the bad. The man sitting in front of him intrigued him and he had accepted his offer, sensing that the man wouldn't hurt him ,but ready to scream bloody murder in case he was wrong.

There was a noticable change in Mozzie all of the sudden. His smile got wider as he looked behind Neal, apparently seeing something good. Neal frowned in confusion and turned to see a brown-haired waitress making her way over to their table. Neal didn't have to be a genius to see what was happening. Mozzie was crushing on that waitress, big time.  
“Mozzie”  
She greeted happily before placing a book on the table.  
“Already?”  
He asked with amusement in his voice  
“I just couldn't put it down”  
She answered while she lifted her little notebook and started to write  
“The usual I pressume?”  
“Yes please. With an addition”  
Mozzie gestured to Neal and the waitress turned and looked at the small boy. She looked surprised, she had been so focused on Mozzie that she hadn't even noticed him.  
She seemed to be just as into Mozzie as Mozzie was to her Neal thought as he gav her a small, shy wave.  
“Aw I'm sorry, I didn't see you there sweetie”  
She said before turning to Mozzie.  
“I didn't know you had a child, Mozzie”  
“He's my nephew”  
“He's such a little cutie”  
She cooed before asking what he wanted. Neal looked down at the menu, or more precisley the prices. He didn't know what was what and as the seconds went by he gave up and leaned back.  
“I don't know”  
He quietly said giving her a confused look. The waitress gave the child a fond smile  
“How about some waffles with a big pile of cream on top?”  
“Can I get it with ice cream?”  
“Sure honey, would you like some crayons to draw with while you wait?”  
Neal nodded and the waitress disappeared.  
“You spent all that time with the menu and you didn't choose anything?”  
Neal expected anger, for him taking so much time only to not even choose which was classed as rude behavior, but there was no anger in Mozzie's voice. He just sounded curious, like he was just trying to understand the boy.  
It was the lack of anger that made Neal confess one of his secrets  
“I can't read”  
He said before looking down at his lap.

Neal stuck his tongue out in concentration as he drew on his napkin, the maze on the kid's menu already completed.  
Mozzie contemplated the boy's words. Neal had been living on the streets for who knows how long and it wasn't strange that he hadn't learned to read yet but it was surprising since the boy seemed to be highly intelligent.  
Mozzie glanced over at Neal's drawing, despite the cheap material being used the golden dog was highly detailed and Mozzie didn't doubt that Neal could become an artist in his future.  
“It looks good, kid. You could become the next Picasso”  
“I prefer Rapahel”  
The kid's answer confirmed Mozzie's thoughts about his high intelligence. It was a real shame that Neal couldn't use it to it's full potential.  
“I could teach you how to read”  
Mozzie offered before he could stop himself and Neal stopped drawing to look up at him. His face was a mixture of hopeful and regarded as if he wanted to believe Mozzie but knew better than to trust his words.  
“Think about it okay?”  
He said and recevied a slow nod as an answer.

As they left the diner Neal's stomach was filled with amazing waffles and the most delicious vanilla ice cream. He couldn't really remember the last time his tummy was full but it felt great.  
Mozzie started to walk away but Neal stood frozen in place in front of the diner. Was he supposed to follow or go his seperate way? Did Mozzie just want to buy him food out of pity and then walk away feeling that he had done a good deed?  
Neal's anxious trail of thoughts were haltered as Mozzie called out for him, having noticed that the small boy was no longer by his side.  
“If you want to survive you need to get better at pickpocketing”  
Mozzie said as Neal reached him.  
“I could see what you did from miles away, you were far too obvious”  
Neal crossed his arms but didn't answer the man. He was probably right.  
They continued to walk until Mozzie bumped into a passerby.  
“See?”  
Mozzie asked as soon as the stranger disappeared, showing the boy a black wallet.  
“You need to be discreat if you don't want to get caught”  
Neal gave Mozzie an impressed look, he had completely missed the theft despite keeping his eyes on Mozzie the whole time.  
“Can you teach me?”  
Mozzie smiled and continued walking.

Mozzie shook his head as he for the fourth time noticed how Neal reached into his pocket.  
“No no no, you're not being careful enough”  
The small boy pouted, feeling frustrated but not ready to give up. He was well aware that the better he got at pickpocketing the more money he could get.  
“You need to be both fast and careful”  
He instructed before placing the wallet back in his jacket.  
“Again”

As the day went by Neal's fingers felt stiff and his body ached from the number of times they practiced to pickpocket while bumping into someone.  
Neal was a quick learner and had managed to get the wallet without Mozzie noticiting a couple of times, something he felt incredibly proud over.  
The boy looked up at the sky and realized that darkness would soon be upon them, and he should be heading home. He wasn't scared of the dark, just the people that came out at night.  
He rose from his spot in the grass and looked at Mozzie who seemed to be lost in thoughts.  
“I should go home now”  
“Where exactly is home, kid?”  
Mozzie asked without looking at him  
“It doesn't matter”  
“You can stay at one of my places, I assure you that it will be better than wherever you are currently taking residence”  
Neal really liked Mozzie, he appeared to be slightly odd but also very nice. He was interesting and intelligent and Neal sensed that they could become really good friends one day, if Mozzie would even want that.  
Neal shook his head though  
“No I'm good, thank you”  
Even though he liked Mozzie he felt like it was too good to be true, that this man came along willing to care for a strange street kid. Neal feared that it would all just be a trick and Mozzie didn't want anything to do with Neal at all. He feared that Mozzie was nice just to play with his feelings.  
With those thoughts echoing in his head the boy left the park heading for the warehouse he called his home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive response on the last chapter and the whole story in general.  
> I hope you will like this chapter too.
> 
> As always all mistakes are mine

“Neal”  
The soft,loving voice called out for him and he ran towards it. She was standing in the kitchen, cutting some vegetables when he came running. She turned around and smiled at him. Her soft, chocolate brown curls framed her face and sapphire orbs peered down at him.  
The boy threw his arms around her and she let out a surprised giggle.  
“Hi baby. Wanna help me set the table?”  
He walked over to the old, broken cabinet where they kept their plates and grabbed two of them.  
“You need three baby”  
She called out and Neal sighed as he grabbed a third one. He placed the plates on the small table before grabbing three glasses and three pairs of silverware.  
He was served rice with the same old stew that they always had, not because it was that good but it was cheap. It was important that it was cheap, after all money didn't grow on trees.  
She sat down beside him, looking longingly at the front door before she faked a smile and started to eat.  
When they were finished she looked at the untouched plate.  
“Looks like daddy didn't make it home today either”  
She said, her voice quiet and somber. She was like that his mother. Everyday she placed a plate on the table for his father and almost everyday she was disappointed.  
She really loved his father, deeply and unconditionally. She waited for him everyday and when he came home, most of the times completely hammered, she greeted him with open arms unlike Neal who ran and hide.  
His mother took the beatings and called it a show of love while Neal wasn't brave enough. He hid in various places but his father could always find him, it was like a terrifying game of hide and seek.  
His mother once said that she wouldn't be able to live without his father, she wouldn't bare being without him. Neal could never understand why she loved someone who hurt her all the time.

He was standing in front of his parents’ bedroom door all of the sudden. It was his fifth birthday and his mommy wasn't making his special birthday pancakes. His stomach was growling as he knocked on the door but he received no answer.  
The boy opened the door and saw his mommy sleeping in the bed. She had been sleeping a lot since daddy disappeared. His mommy had been crying saying that daddy wouldn't come back home, he was going to live somewhere else now. Neal hadn't been sad, because it meant that his daddy wouldn't hurt him anymore.  
The small boy heaved himself up on the bed and looked down at his mother. She was fast asleep, looking peaceful and beautiful. His mother looked like an angel. Next to her was her orange bottle of pills, the pills that helped mommy sleep. It was empty even though it was full yesterday. Neal frowned before shaking his mommy's shoulder.  
“Mommy! It's my birthday, you gotta wake up”  
After shaking her several times without receiving an answer the small boy slowly got more desperate. Why didn't she wake up?  
Neal abandoned his spot on the bed and ran out the front door. He made his way to the neighbour's door and after a few desperate knocks, the door flew open revealing a pissed off, exhausted woman. Their neighbour Ellen worked night shifts and had probably just gone to bed.  
“What do you want,brat?”  
She asked, clearly irritated at the young boy that had disturbed her sleep.  
“Mommy won't wake up!”  
He said and Ellen rushed to the bedroom and his sleeping mother.  
Neal didn't feel worried until Ellen crouched down in front of him, looking him in the eyes.  
“I'm sorry Neal. Your mommy won't wake up, she's with the angels now”  
It was difficult for the woman to find a good way to explain what had happened , but Neal knew what it meant. His grandmother was with the angels, as well as the cat they once had.  
When someone was with the angels they were gone forever, never to come back.  
Tears rolled down his cheeks and Ellen lifted him up, carrying him out of the room. Just as they reached his own bedroom a noise was heard from his mommy's bedroom. His mommy wasn't with the angels, no she was still with him. He broke free from Ellen's grip and ran towards his mother's room.  
There she was, dressed in a light blue nightdress and her fluffy bunny slippers, but her face wasn't hers. No she looked like those horrible monsters Neal once saw on TV, the monsters that ate brains and growled like wild animals. His mother growled before she reached out for him, opening her mouth and exposing a sharp set of teeth.

Neal woke up with a scream, tears escaping his eyes as he looked around in the dark warehouse. His memories had combined with his fears and created a horrible nightmare. He found himself longing for his mother, he missed her comforting hugs and the smell of vanilla that always seemed to follow her. The warehouse suddenly felt so much darker and scarier than ever before. Maybe he should've taken Mozzie up on his offer, even if he was unsure about Mozzie's intention he at least wouldn't be alone.

Neal didn't sleep more that night, it felt like there was a monster in every corner and he swore he heard something growl. As soon as the first ray of lights shone through the dirty windows the boy felt a little silly since the warehouse was empty, not a single monster in sight. Neal left the warehouse, not really wanting to be alone any longer, and headed to the park, hoping to run into Mozzie again.

It had been hard just letting the child leave yesterday, but Mozzie didn't want to scare the kid away by following him or forcing him to come with him. By letting the child decide he hoped to establish a trust between them, even if it was hard for Mozzie,  
As he made his way to the park, he found himself hoping to see Neal again. The man was slightly confused by this since normally he wasn't one to befriend strangers in the park, especially not children. Perhaps it was his own childhood that made him sympathize with the boy or maybe it was the child's great mind that had connected with his own. Whatever the reason the man could see Neal as a future protegé, someone to pass on his skills to and perhaps plan his greatest con with one day.  
Mozzie stopped as he sighted a small figure sitting on a park bench, shivering and close to sleep. He looked like he'd been here for a long time.  
He sat down next to the child who looked up at him in alarm before realizing who it was.  
“Mozzie”  
He said, his smile bright as the sun and Mozzie had to admit that seeing the kid happy made him feel warm inside.  
“How about some breakfast?”  
The boy nodded and they walked towards the diner again.

As the evening came Neal had close to mastered the pickpocketing skill after training for what felt like centuries with Mozzie. The man had even taught him how to read some of the words on the diner menu.  
Neal was sitting down in the grass, fascinated by a beautiful butterfly circling around them, while Mozzie observed the kid.  
“My offer still stands”  
Mozzie was not heartless, he couldn't let the child spend another cold night by himself without at least offering a safer, warmer home.  
Neal bit his lip while he considered Mozzie's offer. Finally he nodded, accepting to follow Mozzie home. Maybe it was his childish need to be cared for or just the fear of being alone that made him forget his doubts about the man.  
As the darkness slowly started to fall over New York the two made their way to Mozzie's apartment, unaware of the man in the shadows that was watching them with a close eye.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to get a 4th chapter together. I am a little unsure about it but hopefully you'll like it
> 
> Again all mistakes are mine

The apartment was simple and bland, there were only the most necessary things in it. There was a small kitchen, a small kitchen table, a dresser, a couch, an old TV and a bed.  
It didn't look like a permanent home and Neal guessed that Mozzie rarely stayed at one place for a longer period of time, but rather rotated between his different homes.

Despite the simpleness of the apartment, Neal felt like he was in heaven. The apartment was warm and clean, the direct opposite of the warehouse and tonight he didn't have to worry about what would happen if a homeless person found his place.  
“No offense kid, but I think you need a shower”  
Mozzie said before comically pinching his nose and waving his hand in the air, which cause the child to giggle.  
Neal agreed with Mozzie, since he hadn't had a proper wash in a long time. Neal had been washing himself in fountains or in the lake in Central Park, and once or twice he had managed to sneak into a nearby gym and use one of their showers.  
Neal stayed longer than necessary in the shower, never getting tired of the warm water.

Neal exited the bathroom, water dripping from his dark hair. He had barely managed to shampoo his hair without getting it into his eyes, but he'd rather have his eyes hurting than ask for help with such a simple task. He didn't even know why Mozzie needed shampoo, the man barely had any hair, but he was glad since his hair had been filled with dirt and sand.  
His blue t-shirt, decorated with The Lion King, was of full of stains from his careless eating and Mozzie offered to get it washed. Neal received a plain, white t-shirt from Mozzie to wear in the meantime.  
Neal pulled of his t-shirt and handed it to Mozzie before taking the way too big white t-shirt.  
Mozzie felt sick, seeing Neal's ribs stick out in a way they just shouldn't do on a young child. It appeared that Mozzie was right previously when he thought of Neal as just skin and bones.  
The shirt was more like a dress on the boy's thin frame but at least it was comfortable and would keep him warm. He kept his jeans on, despite them being ripped and stained, he didn't want to feel too exposed or get his legs cold.  
“It's been a while since we ate, how about a sandwich?”  
Neal nodded at the question and as Mozzie turned away the boy wiped at his eyes. Mozzie was so nice to him and Neal had a hard time understanding why. Mozzie had sacrificed money, his home and most of all his time for Neal and the boy couldn't even begin to repay him.

Neal yawned as he with tired eyes watched the tall man on the tv explain different conspiracy theories. Mozzie was completely engulfed with the program, sometimes muttering to himself that something wasn't true before offering an even more crazy sounding theory, and sometimes he just nodded in agreement.  
The man was on his third glass of wine and Neal wasn't sure if it was the alcohol that caused his reactions or if the man was just really passionate about conspiracies.  
As Mozzie went to refill his glass for a fourth time, Neal decided to go to bed. Not really feeling comfortable with Mozzie's drinking. He was scared that Mozzie was a violent drunk, just like his father, and he didn't want to be around if Mozzie needed something, or someone, to punch.  
“I'm gonna go to bed”  
He announced before adding a quick  
“Good night”  
He hopped of the sofa and walked over to the bed that Mozzie had promised him, despite Neal volunteering to take the couch.  
“Good night, kid”  
Mozzie answered before returning to the show.  
The bed was so soft and comfortable, it was heaven itself compared to the matress in the warehouse.  
Within seconds the boy fell asleep expecting to have a good night's sleep and even if a nightmare would torture him he would not be alone this time.

As the show ended Mozzie glanced over at the young boy who was fast asleep in the bed. The man took his wine glass and Neal's water glass and placed in the kitchen before going to the bathroom to take a shower.  
Mozzie showered quickly, for some unknown reason feeling like he needed to get back to the boy.  
Since meeting the boy he had developed these protective instincts, not exactly father instincts, no Mozzie was not a father figure but some form of a protector, an older brother perhaps. He could see his young self clearly in Neal. Mozzie was uncertain how his life would have turned out if Mr. Jeffries hadn't been there for him, he wanted to be to Neal what Mr. Jeffries was to him. If Mozzie had the chance to make Neal's life even a little better then he would do it.

Mozzie hummed a tune quietly as he left the bathroom, feeling confident in his choice to try to become Neal's mentor. If Neal wanted to stay with Mozzie forever, he was ready to provide food, shelter and life lessons for him. Mozzie looked over at Neal to see if the boy was still asleep, but what he saw made him freeze in place. By the bed stood a man, leaning over Neal as he was closely watching the child sleep.  
Alarm bells rang in Mozzie's head and just as he was about to spring into action he was stopped by the man's voice.  
“Mozzie”  
Mozzie recognized the voice immediately and it felt as if his blood froze to ice.  
“Have you completely forgotten about our job?”  
The man turned around looking at the shorter man with dark eyes.  
“The clock is ticking and my client is getting impatient. I decided to check up on you, expecting to see you preparing for our job but imagine my surprise when instead I find you playing in the park with junior here?”  
The tone of his voice was a mixture of irritated and amused and Mozzie did not like the way he looked at Neal. It was the same way the man looked at a painting or a diamond, trying to decide what they were worth.   
“I'm gonna get it done, just give me some time”  
Mozzie promised but all he got was a grunt in response. Mozzie looked at Neal, hoping he wouldn't wake up, but his attention was quickly brought back to the man as he heard the cock of a gun.  
Mozzie put his hands up while establishing eye contact with the man. The man got closer to Mozzie and he could hear his own heart beat loud and fast in his ears.  
“I promise you I'm going to get it done”  
The man grinned and lifted the hand holding the gun.  
“Oh I am certain that you will”  
Was the last thing Mozzie heard before it all went black.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted say thank you so much for all the positive comments and kudos. It makes me really happy and I'm so glad that you actually like this.
> 
> Again all mistakes are mine. Enjoy

A warm hand caressed his cheek, just like his mother always used to do, but the hand wasn't soft and gentle, no the hand was big and rough. Someone was talking to him, at first he thought it was just a dream but the touch and the voice didn't fade away as he started to wake up.  
As he became fully awake, he could hear the voice more clearly. His body went limp with fear when he realized that it wasn't Mozzie's voice.  
If he pretended to continue to sleep then maybe whoever it was would leave him alone?  
No such luck, the person grabbed his thin shoulders and shook him hard.  
Where was Mozzie? Neal wanted him more than anything right now.  
He didn't see any other option than to just open his eyes and face the beast.  
A man looked down at him and there was something about the man that made his skin crawl.  
“Shh junior, it's alright”  
The voice said in a placating tone, but his words did nothing to calm him down, quite the opposite.  
“MOZZIE”  
He yelled, hoping for Mozzie to show up like a knight in shining armor but he didn't.  
The man just smiled at him, patting the top of his head in a condescending way.  
“W-who are you? Where's Mozzie?”  
He stammered, trying to fight back the tears that formed in his eyes.  
“I am a friend of Mozzie's, you can call me Keller”

Despite the fact that Keller was giving him a big smile and the fact that he apparently was Mozzie's friend, Neal was scared of him. His gut feeling screamed at him to not trust the man. Neal had learned how to read people, it had been necessary for him to separate the good people from the bad and everything about this man screamed bad.  
“Where's Mozzie?”  
He asked again, trying to sound demanding and brave but apparently he failed since Keller just laughed at him.  
“You're one tough little cookie, huh?”  
Keller asked in a amused voice before it turned into a false softness  
“How about you come with me for a while kiddo?”  
Neal shook his head, not ready to follow the strange man anywhere.  
“Please, I'll get you a big lollipop”  
Did Keller seriously think that it would work? Like the promise of candy would make Neal trust him? Neal was smarter than that.  
“Do you think I'm stupid?”  
He asked before he could stop himself, immediately regretting his words as he saw the frustration in Keller's face. He sighed before reaching out for the child, lifting him off the bed.  
Neal trashed like a wild animal but Keller didn't seem to care about his struggles, instead the man held him in an iron grip and walked towards the front door.  
As they passed the couch Neal saw the lifeless form on the floor, and he started to scream bloody murder.  
He wanted to break free and run to Mozzie, wanting to know if he was okay, but he couldn't no matter how hard he tried.  
“Stop screaming or I’ll make sure Mozzie will never wake up”  
That did the trick and Neal went quiet, afraid that Keller would follow through on his threat. Of course Keller could be lying and Mozzie was already gone, but Neal didn't even want to think that.  
Mozzie was alive, he was okay and he would find Neal. He hoped.

He wrapped his arms around himself to stop the shivering. The room was cold and dark and he didn't even have a blanket to warm him up. Neal curled up inside the big t-shirt, that smelled just like Mozzie. He wanted to cry but he was all out of tears. He didn't know how long he had been in the room, had it been just a couple of minutes or had he been here for hours?  
What if he was stuck here forever? What if Mozzie never came?  
Neal hadn't realize that he had gotten attached to Mozzie, even if he didn't fully trust him yet.  
His father had pointed it out as a flaw, that Neal could be too naïve, too kind and he had tried to better himself but still here he was getting attached to the first person who cared about him.  
Mozzie seemed to like him, but did he like him enough to risk his life for him? Probably not.  
Mozzie wouldn't come for him and Neal would be stuck here forever. Until he met his mommy again.

The pain in his head was unbearable and when he opened his eyes he swore he saw stars.  
Despite the pain he knew he had to get up, something was wrong he could feel it.  
How did he even end up on the floor?  
With great effort he got up, supporting himself with a hand on the wall while rubbing the other along his face.The world was spinning and he wanted nothing else but to lie down again but he couldn't because he had that nagging feeling that something was very wrong.  
He closed his eyes and did his best to focus and finally, like a lightning bolt from the sky it hit him. Keller.  
Mozzie turned around and was met with an empty bed. Neal was gone and so was Keller, it wasn't hard to understand that the two had left together.  
Mozzie cursed himself for neglecting his deal with Keller. He had been on his way to case the place when he ran into Neal and the task had been forgotten. He should've known that Keller would not be patient, he never were.  
He staggered to the fridge and got an ice pack that he placed on his hurting head.

Three glasses of wine later, you could never trust painkillers, Mozzie felt better and he finally felt ready to clean up this mess. He picked up his phone and dialed Keller, the man picking up after the first ring.  
“So you finally decided to wake up?”  
Keller's voice was yet again amused, and Mozzie wanted to punch Keller, sick of him acting like it was a game.  
“Where's the kid, Keller?”  
“Junior's fine.”  
“Leave him out of this”  
“You'll get him back, Moz. After the job”  
And with those words the call ended and Mozzie desperately wanted to punch something, but instead he just downed another glass of wine before he fell into a restless sleep, knowing there was nothing else he could do tonight and he needed to be well rested for tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thank you for all the comments and all the kudos they make me so freaking happy everytime
> 
> Secondly I did my best with Mozzie's job after rewatching some scenes and some googling.  
> It's far from the best or the most interesting but hopefully you won't find it boring
> 
> Again all mistakes are mine

Mozzie stroke his chin while pretending to admire a couple of paintings, in reality he was looking at everything but the paintings. The man was analyzing everything from the museum's layout to the competence of the staff.  
After hours of casing Mozzie left the museum, feeling confident that it would be an easy job. Normally he didn't mind a challenge but this wasn't a normal case, no there was a child in danger and every minute that passed was another minute Neal spent in Keller's clutches.

Normally Mozzie would case the place and then take some time to figure out the best plan, but he didn't have that kind of time today. So instead he decided to reuse an old simple plan, it had worked out well in the past so Mozzie felt sure that it would work just as well today.  
He was lucky that the job had been planned over a week ago, since one of Keller's guys had the time to create a forgery, the plan would not work without one.  
Mozzie gathered all of his supplies before heading off to the museum again.

Dressed in a janitor uniform he pushed the cleaning cart through the hallway until he ended up at the right exhibit. There were only three people in the room and Mozzie cleared his throat before loudly announcing that the exhibit would be closed for cleaning. He heard some weak protests but the people left the room, while Mozzie looked down at the cart to hide his face.  
As soon as the room was clear he closed the big doors, hanging a CLOSED sign on them.  
Mozzie put on a hat, equipped with a L.E.D light that would blind the cameras and hide his face, before turning off all three cameras using a signal jammer.  
Once it was done Mozzie was fast with cutting the painting out of it’s frame and replacing it with the forgery. The forgery looked legit at first but a closer inspection revealed all the mistakes and sloppy work done by Keller’s guy. It was far from perfect and it was only a matter of time before it was discovered.   
Mozzie rolled up the painting and placed it in the cart before leaving the room, opening the exhibit again. As soon as he reached the janitor closet he changed his clothes and casually walked out of the building.

Keller was leaning against the wall, whistling a happy tune, as Mozzie approached. It was really hard for Mozzie to not punch him right in his smug face.  
“Mozzie, old pal”  
Keller greeted cheerfully and Mozzie answered with a low growl.  
“Let's get this over with, Keller”  
“Alright let’s see it”  
Mozzie rolled out the painting and showed it to Keller who gave him an approving nod before reaching out for it, Mozzie was faster though and pulled it back out of his reach.  
“Let the kid go first”  
“Moz-“  
“Let him go Keller or you’ll never see this painting ever again”  
For a second Keller actually looked scared by Mozzie’s threat but then he burst into laughter.  
As soon as Keller stopped laughing he picked up his phone, making a call and putting it on speaker.  
A man answered after only one ring  
“Yeah, boss?”  
“Put the kid on”  
Mozzie could feel his heart speed up, what had Keller planned now? This was supposed to be the end.  
“H-Hello?”  
Neal’s voice was weak and anyone could hear the fear in it.  
“Hey junior, I’ve got your old pal Mozzie here”  
“Mozzie?”  
“I’m here.”  
“Now junior, tell Mozzie what you see”  
“There’s a man in front of me. He-“  
Neal’s voice broke and the tiny sniffle that could be heard broke Mozzie’s heart.  
“He has a gun.”  
Before Mozzie could answer Keller hung up. Mozzie was not a violent man but he had never ever wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill Keller in this moment. What kind of psychopath threatened to shoot a six year old?  
Mozzie thrusted the painting into Keller’s arms.  
“What do you want Keller?”  
“You will do my dirty work or the kid will die”  
“For how long?”  
“Until I’m happy”  
And with those words, Keller walked away.

Mozzie walked into the diner, sitting down in his usual booth. Something felt wrong though, it felt empty.  
It was funny how he had over the span of just a couple of days gotten so used to the young boy sitting opposite him, creating masterpieces on the napkins and trying to understand what the menu said.  
“No nephew today?”  
The voice broke Mozzie out of his thoughts and he faked a smile.  
“No, he's with his parents today”  
“Well I hope he'll be able to join you again soon, he's such a sweet little boy”  
“Me too, Gina. Me too”  
Gina left with his order and Mozzie looked out the window, feeling completely useless. Mozzie didn't want to do Keller's dirty work but there was no other choice. He couldn't let Neal get hurt, but he couldn't stand the thought of him being alone and scared somewhere either. It didn't even matter that he barely knew the kid, he had felt attached to the kid since day 1, as if it was simply their destiny to be friends.  
His food was placed in front of him and Gina sat down opposite him. In a soft voice she started to talk about the book she had borrowed from him, but when Mozzie remained silent she stopped and gave him a worried look. Mozzie was always eager to talk to her about books.  
“Are you okay?”  
She asked and Mozzie looked at her, an unreadable look on his face. The man suddenly stood up and placed a couple of bills on the table.  
“Sorry for the trouble Gina, I lost my appetite”  
How was he supposed to sit there and eat as if nothing had happened?  
Would Keller provide food for Neal or would the child go to bed hungry tonight?  
Those were the kind of questions that circled around in Mozzie's head as he made his way back to one of his apartments, a different one this time, one that didn't remind him of Neal.  
As Mozzie fell asleep that night, after downing close to a full bottle of wine, there was only one question repeating in his head.  
Is Neal okay?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a sudden burst of inspiration and managed to write another chapter. I hope you will like it :)  
> All mistakes are still mine

Mozzie wiped the sweat off his brow as he finally managed to pick the lock of the residential house. His normally steady hands, shook ever so slightly as he felt nervous about this particular job. He hadn't had the time to case the place so he had no idea what waited inside, all he had was the info Keller had given him. An older lady lived here and she would have plenty of money and other valuables.  
Mozzie had stopped questioning Keller, knowing that the other man would just laugh at him without providing an answer.  
It had been over a week since Neal got kidnapped and this was the third job he'd been forced to execute for Keller and he showed no signs of being even close to satisfied.  
Mozzie needed this to end, but he didn't know how.

Mozzie held his breath as the floorboard beneath him creaked but the house remained silent. After slowly counting to ten he started to move again. He had no idea where to look, if the treasures were upstairs or downstairs and if they were hidden away or put on a display.  
He decided to check downstairs first and slowly moved towards the dining room. Just as he reached the dining table he heard a low growl behind him. A dog.  
Expecting a big dobermann or german shepherd or some other large, dangerous dog he slowly turned around and almost laughed as he saw a small pug staring him down, trying to look menacing.  
He was too focused on the dog to notice the figure emerging from the stairs until it was too late. As he looked up he stared right into the barrel of a gun.  
Mozzie threw his hands up  
“Don't shoot”  
The figure reached out a hand, the other one still holding the gun tightly, and flipped a light switch. As his eyes got used to the light he could see that the figure was no other than the lady herself.  
“Give me one reason not to shoot”  
She said, her voice steady and confident as if it wouldn't face her to kill a man.  
“I can explain everything”  
He said, feeling genuinely scared.  
“If you shoot me, then there's a child getting hurt as well”  
Mozzie added, desperately trying to get the lady to put down the gun. The mention of a child seemed to work as she slowly, slowly lowered the gun.

Ten minutes and two glasses of wine later they chatted like old friends. Mozzie having explained his situation and the lady wanting to help him get out of this mess.  
The lady, who's name was June, was quite the badass and as it turned out her husband used to be a con man, so she was far from helpless when it came to thieves breaking into her house.   
Mozzie even managed to bond with the small pug named Bugsy, despite him spending a good five minutes growling at the stranger.  
“I have an idea Mozzie, but I'm not sure that you will like it”  
“I'd do anything June, anything”  
The lady nodded before she rose from her seat and motioned him to follow her.

His messenger bag felt very heavy as he walked through the park. In it was two small bags filled with cash and diamonds, all from June. Treasures she could sacrifice in order for them to work their plan.  
Keller was sitting on a park bench as Mozzie approached.  
“You got it?”  
Mozzie nodded  
“You know the drill”  
Keller got his phone up and pressed a speed dial button. The man picked up after the first ring, as usual.  
“Hey Mozzie”  
Neal's voice was quiet and low. Everytime his job was done he insisted on talking to Neal, to make sure that the kid was still alive, before he handed the objects to Keller. In the beginning he had sounded hopeful, believing that Mozzie would show up and save him but as time went by the hope had faded away.  
“I want to talk to him in private, just him and me”  
Keller frowned, as this was something Mozzie had never requested before.  
“I'll give you half of it as a reassurance”  
Keller seemed to contemplate Mozzie's offer and finally nodded.  
“One minute, Moz, and not a second more”  
Mozzie retrieved one of the bags and handed it to Keller while he got the phone. He backed up a little, to make sure that Keller wouldn't hear him.  
“Hey Neal, you okay?”  
“No”  
“Is the man with the gun listening?”  
“No”  
“I promise you that you will be free soon”  
There was a short moment of silence before Neal quietly said  
“I don't believe you”  
“Please Neal listen to me. June Ellington. You need to remember that name. Can you do that?”  
“Why?”  
“You will be safe with her, I promise”  
“Where will you go?”  
Neal sounded scared and he probably was. Mozzie didn't know much about the boy but as an orphan he recognized the fear. The fear of people leaving him again. Mozzie felt terrible for doing exactly that, abandoning Neal, but he had to.  
“Mozzie?”  
The kid repeated before Keller's voice could be heard  
“Time's up, Moz”  
Mozzie repeated June's name and her address before the phone was ripped from his hands by Keller.  
“The second bag”  
He demanded and Mozzie gave it to him without any hesitation.  
Mozzie watched as Keller disappeared before turning the other way.

Mozzie kept a close eye at the device placed on the table. He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of this himself. June was a genius and when he saw her again he would have to repay her big time.  
Hidden in one of the bags was a small tracking device, showing Mozzie exactly where Keller went.  
As the circle stopped down by the docks, Mozzie double checked the address. Nothing but abandoned buildings. It was the perfect place for Keller's evil lair.  
Mozzie reached for his burner phone and slowly pressed the buttons. He lifted the phone to his ear to make a phone call he'd always hoped he wouldn't have to make.  
A woman answered and Mozzie had to take a deep breath before being able to speak.  
“I want to leave an anonymous tip regarding a stolen painting”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all yet again for commenting and giving me kudos. It makes me really happy and really motivates me to continue.
> 
> I do have some insecurities with this chapter but hopefully you will like it   
> All mistakes are still mine

He didn't know how long it had been since he was taken. There were no windows to provide light for him, just a small light dangling from the ceiling. Without windows he couldn’t separate day from night and there were no other indicators of what time of day it was.  
A man came into his room everyday to give him food and change the bucket that was his toilet. Neal had tried counting how many times it been but he wasn't that good at counting and his body and mind felt weak.  
He was only given one sandwich a day, always the same plain sandwich, with nothing but icky tasting bread and a dry piece of cheese. Even Neal knew that there was no way he would survive on just the plain sandwich and one glass of water a day in the long run.  
His whole body hurt from sleeping curled up to a ball on the hard floor and he had several bruises from his one, stupid, escape attempt.  
Neal had stood by the door and as soon as it was opened he bolted out of the room but was instantly grabbed by the man and literally thrown back into the room.  
Since then he hadn't even dared to think about another escape attempt.  
Sometimes the man came inside with a gun and a phone and Neal got to talk to Mozzie. In the beginning he had high hopes for Mozzie saving him from this hell but as time went by he lost it. Mozzie would never come and he would never get out of here. Neal had accepted that he would go to heaven and see the angels and his mommy. He just hoped that it wouldn't hurt.

Neal sat in one of the corners, curled up into a ball and head leaning against the wall. He didn't know if it was day or night but he was tired either way. He tried to sleep as much as possible, he was a very active kid who liked to activate his brain and it was killing him to not being able to do anything. He was close to sleep when the heavy door opened and the man stepped in, closing the door tightly behind him. He was holding a gun and a phone as usual. The man gave his legs a light kick and Neal whined like a scared puppy. The man laughed at him, a low and menacing laugh which made Neal's skin crawl. He really hated this man, his mommy always told him that hate was a strong word and that you should never hate someone but this man deserved it. He was a very bad man, with crazy eyes and a huge, scary scar over his face. He smelled like beer, just like Neal’s dad, and he always looked angry. He never said anything nice and he didn’t care when Neal got hurt. He really was a very bad man.  
The man lifted the gun and pointed it at Neal. Even if he had been in this situation several times now, he was still just as scared as the first time. It seemed like he never got used to having a gun pointed at him.  
The phone rang and the man immediately picked up and put it on speaker.  
“Hey Mozzie”  
He called out, no longer feeling any happiness about talking to Mozzie. It was more of a duty, to prove he was alive, and nothing else.  
He could hear Mozzie asking for a private conversation. Why did Mozzie want to talk to him in private? Did he want to tell Neal that he was gonna give up on trying to please Keller and wanted to say goodbye to Neal?  
As soon as Keller agreed the man turned off speaker and gave the phone to Neal, not looking too happy about it. He put the phone to his ear, with his a slightly shaking hand.  
“Hey Neal, you okay?”  
Neal had never been less okay in his short life. He would rather go back home to his father or go back to foster care. He had been hurt a lot, he had been beaten, he had been kicked, he had been yelled at but he would without hesitation go back to that if it meant that he got out of this place. At least in his previous homes he had the option to escape, he could see the sun and he had the chance to activate his brain. Here he had nothing.  
“No”  
He answered truthfully. He wasn't okay and Mozzie needed to know that. If Mozzie was gonna give up, he at least needed to know that Neal was not okay.  
Neal was honestly surprised by Mozzie not saying goodbye but actually promising to get him free. He wanted to believe it, he wanted to believe it so bad, but it felt too good to be true.  
“I don't believe you”  
Mozzie told him the name and address of a woman, telling him to remember it and that he would be safe there before Keller's voice could be heard and the call ended.  
Mozzie said he would be safe there, but he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t be safe with Mozzie. 

June Ellington. June Ellington. June Ellington.  
Neal repeated the name in his head over and over again. He didn't want to forget it.  
It was also a way to activate his brain. He tried to figure out how you would spell it and how many letters there were.  
He was in the middle of his name mantra when he heard a loud bang followed by yelling. His instincts kicked in and told him to run but he knew very well that there was nowhere to run. There were more yelling outside and he whimpered as he hid his face in the t-shirt. It had long since lost the smell of Mozzie that had given him comfort in the beginning.

He didn't know what was going on but he could hear several footsteps outside the door and then a loud bang that made his ears hurt. He lifted his small, dirty hands and placed them over his ears as another bang could be heard. Someone was yelling again and the next thing he knew the door flew open.  
Neal didn't want to look, but his need to know what was going on was strong and he slowly lifted his head and saw a man walking inside, holding a gun in his hand, looking ready to shoot.  
Neal whimpered at the sight of the gun and it attracted the man's attention. The man looked at the boy and immediately lowered his gun.  
The man walked closer to him and Neal expressed his fear by whimpering and pressing himself against the wall. This was not the bad man that had been feeding him or pointing a gun at him before, but that didn't calm him down at all.  
The man seemed to notice Neal's fear and put the gun away before crouching down. His warm, brown eyes met with Neal's.  
The man reached into his pocket and showed him a badge.  
“I'm from the FBI. I'm not going to hurt you”  
Without thinking Neal got up on shaking legs and ran over to the man, throwing himself in his arms.  
The man put his arm around the small child and gave him an awkward pat on the back.  
“It's okay buddy”  
He said his voice stiff and awkward, as if he was trying to be reassuring at the same time he didn't really know how to deal with the child.  
The man tried to release Neal but he refused to let go of the man. He didn't care who he was, right now all Neal could see him as was his saviour.  
He heard a sigh before the man grabbed him again and stood up with him, carrying him out of the room.  
“Boss we found something”  
Neal heard someone say, a female. Probably another FBI agent.  
“Yeah? So did I”


	9. Chapter 9

Neal swung his legs back and forth as he drew a dog on the paper that one of the agents had provided for him. The agent, named Jones, had thought it was a good idea to give him the paper and a pen so that he would be occupied while they talked to each other.  
Neal could see them through the glass, talking to each other. He wished he knew what they were saying, but they were talking too fast for him to even try to read their lips.

 

The door opened and one of the agents stepped in. The one that had found him in his prison. Neal had been clinging on to the man all the way to the bureau, he hadn’t even let go of the man in the car.The agent had tried to put the child down but Neal had cried and screamed until the man relunctantly sat down in the backseat with the boy still clinging to him.  
He hadn’t let go of the agent until they reached the conference room and Neal was absolutely sure that he was safe.  
The man sat down opposite him and looked at the boy, that hadn’t said a word since he was found.  
“My name is Peter, what’s yours?”  
He tried but received no answer from Neal, who just continued to draw his dog. He heard Peter sigh tiredly before checking his watch. Neal didn’t know what time it was but it was pitch black outside and he guessed that it was late evening or even the middle of the night.  
“That’s a nice dog you’ve got there, what’s his name?”  
Neal had a hard time ignoring that. His mother always used to love his drawings and ask questions like that, she was always interested in what he created. It had been a long time since someone cared about his drawings, of course Mozzie did but he had only cared about how good it was and not about what exactly he created or why.  
“Sacchmo”  
He mumbled, not really being able to pronounce the name, while continuing adding the finishing touches to the dog’s face. Once he was finished he looked up at Peter and he saw that the man looked slightly confused.  
“Did you say Satchmo?”  
He asked and Neal nodded.  
“Well that’s funny ‘cause I’ve got a dog named Satchmo. Wanna see him?”  
Neal nodded again, more eagerly this time. He had always loved dogs.  
The man reached into his pocket and retrieved a wallet and opened it. He picked up a picture and handed it to Neal.  
Neal grabbed it and looked down at the picture closely. It wasn’t the dog that got his attention though but the dark haired woman sitting beside the dog.  
He remembered her, the woman he had met that chilly evening, the woman who reminded him so much of his mother.  
He dragged his thumb over the woman’s face, something Peter seemed to notice.  
“That’s my wife, Elizabeth, she’s beautiful isn’t she?”  
Neal looked up at the agent, for a second he had gotten completely lost in the photograph and forgotten that he was even there.  
“I met her”  
“What?”  
“I met them”  
He picked up his drawing and held it next to the picture  
“It’s the same Sacchmo”

Peter placed his hands on his hips as he walked towards Jones and Diana. Their conversation ended as they saw their boss and Jones was quick to get an update.  
“So how did it go?”  
Peter shook his head slightly  
“The kid won’t even tell me his name. Although he was happy to talk about my dog”  
His colleagues looked amused at this  
“Apparently he met both my dog and my wife before”  
“Really?”  
“A while ago El talked about meeting a boy that said his father was in our neighbour’s house. El couldn’t sleep that night, said she had a gut feeling that something was wrong. She talked to the neighbours the next day and they had never even heard of the boy”  
Jones peered over Peter’s shoulder and looked at the boy who was staring at them with curious blue eyes.  
“You think it’s the same kid?”  
“Well there’s only one way to find out”

Neal quickly lowered his head when Peter walked into the room, he didn’t want to make it obvious that he was watching them. He had learned the hard way that adults didn’t like it when kids eavesdropped or put their noses where it didn’t belong.  
“You’re sure you don’t want to give me your parents names?”  
Peter asked but Neal remained quiet. He couldn’t tell Peter that he didn’t have any parents because then he would be sent back to the foster system and he couldn’t take that.  
“Well it’s getting late and I’m guessing it’s way past your bedtime. So I’m going to take you with me for the night, because we can’t leave you here alone now can we?”  
Neal wanted to disagree, this office was very nice compared to what he was used to but yet again he couldn’t voice his thoughts, it would only cause alarm for Peter and he would understand that he was an unwanted child, that needed to go back to the system.  
“So you will be staying at my house tonight and then tomorrow a nice lady will come and talk to you alright?”  
Neal knew exactly what Peter meant by that, he had been told the same thing by one of the police officers that day when his mom left him. The nice lady hadn’t been nice, she had faked her smile, she had been very boring, she had smelled really bad and she had taken him away from his home.  
The lady would recognize him and take him back and place him in another awful home.  
He wanted to protest, to cry, scream or just run away but instead he just nodded. He couldn’t escape, not now but he couldn’t go back either, not after he ran away to avoid getting hurt.  
Peter looked satisfied with his nod, unaware of what was going on inside the child’s head. When Peter grabbed his hand Neal didn’t protest.

Neal was quiet the entire car ride, his young mind was busy trying to form a plan to avoid going back.  
He didn’t even notice that the car stopped until he heard Peter clear his throat and when he looked up he recognized the neighbourhood.  
Neal followed Peter into the house and was immediately greeted by the golden dog. The dog practically threw himself at the young boy who fell to the floor.  
Peter groaned at the dog tipping the child over, not wanting to deal with a crying child in the middle of the night but luckily seconds after falling down the boy started to giggle as the dog licked his face.  
Soft footsteps could be heard descending the stairs and as Neal looked up he saw the dark haired woman standing at the bottom of the stairs dressed in a white robe and fluffy slippers.  
Their blue eyes met and she looked at her husband and then at the boy again.  
“It’s you.”  
Was all she said and Neal nodded slowly.  
“Peter…what?”  
Peter shook his head  
“I’ll explain later hun, but for now could you make the guest room ready?”  
He asked and Elizabeth nodded and ascended the stairs again.  
Neal got up from the floor and patted Satchmo’s head while he awaited instructions. Peter turned around and activated the alarm, unaware of the child watching him closely and memorizing the numbers.  
“Are you hungry?”  
Neal shook his head at the same time his stomach growled. Peter gave the boy an amused smile before beckoning Neal to follow him. Peter got to the fridge while Neal climbed up on one of the chairs placed by the kitchen island.  
“So what do you want? Devilled ham?”  
The smell travelled across the room and Neal scrunched up his nose at the disgusting smell.  
“I guess not”  
Peter chuckled before making a basic sandwich with cheese and cucumber for him. Neal didn’t care too much about what was on the sandwich , as long as it didn’t smell like that ham.

Once the child was fed the pair went upstairs where Elizabeth was waiting for them.  
“You need to get washed up before you sleep honey”  
Neal looked down at himself, the room he’d been kept in was far from clean and it had been over a week since he showered at Mozzie’s.   
“I can help you”  
She offered but Neal shook his head  
“I can do it myself”  
He could see that Elizabeth was struggling to accept his answer but eventually she nodded.  
“We’ll be just outside, honey”  
Neal showered as quickly as possible and when he stepped out he saw a t-shirt next to the towel. It was a simple black t-shirt, one of Elizabeth’s shirts judging by it’s size.  
He put his old t-shirt on instead, not wanting to abandon his only connection to Mozzie.  
Elizabeth didn’t look too happy with his choice to wear the dirty shirt but she let it go and instead showed him to guest room.  
Elizabeth said good night and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead while Peter was satisfied with saying good night from the hallway.  
The door was left ajar before the couple disappeared into their own room. Neal felt an ache in his heart. Their house was so nice and Elizabeth was such a gentle soul and even Peter, despite his awkwardness, took care of him. In another world, in another life they could’ve been his parents and he could experience their kindness every single day of his life. Neal knew that it was impossible to change life like that but he still decided to wish really hard for it.

Neal could hear them talking, low and soft as to not disturb him. He couldn’t make out the words but he knew that they were talking about him. Despite the warm feelings he felt for the couple, his insecurities appeared. Peter was probably apologizing for bringing a stray child home.  
They had been really nice to Neal but they hadn’t asked for him, they probably didn’t want to deal with him. Peter was going to ditch him tomorrow anyways and this was just a place to stay over the night. They most likely felt like they had to be nice to him, instead of actually wanting to be nice to Neal. He had believed their kindness, even wished for them to be his parents. He got way too attached way too quickly and he was so stupid to think that they would ever want him. He was just a nuisance and who in their right mind would ever want him? Well luckily for them he had already formed a plan and he wouldn’t bother them anymore.  
He was struggling to stay awake, listening closely to all the sounds. After a while he could hear Peter beginning to snore lightly but still he waited a little longer.  
Finally he felt that enough time had passed and he sneaked out of the room and down the stairs.  
Once downstairs he walked towards the purse he had seen before. He put his hand in it and found what he was looking for, Elizabeth’s wallet.  
He felt really bad when he took all the bills that she had, but he needed the money.  
Neal put in the numbers he had seen earlier and the little light indicating that the alarm was activated changed it’s colour. Just as he opened the door he could hear the sound of paws coming towards him. Neal petted the dog and gave him a big kiss.  
“I’m sorry Sacchmo I have to go.”  
He whispered to the dog before unlocking the door and walking outside into the cold New York night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah already at chapter 10, and I still have a lot of ideas so this fic will have at least 20 chapters, probably even more.  
> I want to say thanks, yet again, for all the positive reviews. I love reading them and they make me so incredibly happy :)  
> All mistakes are still mine.

Neal tried his best to remember the way he had walked the last time he had ended up in this neighbourhood. He kept looking behind him, feeling really paranoid that Satchmo had alerted Peter and he would follow him, and everytime he heard a car he hid behind the closest object.  
Finally he managed to reach the main road and Neal felt happy, knowing he had successfully escaped. Now he wouldn't have to go back to one of those horrible foster homes.  
Neal watched all the cars go by, waiting for a taxi to show up. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spotted a yellow car and he waved his hands to catch the driver's attention, just like he had seen adults do.  
The taxi didn't stop though, it just went right by him and so did the next taxi and the next.  
Neal was about to give up when finally a taxi slowed down and he opened the door and sat down in the backseat. A middle aged man, with black hair and big brown eyes, looked back at him and gave him a concerned look.  
"Are you running away from home?"  
He asked, and well technically he was, he was running away just not from home. Of course he couldn't tell the driver that, then his escape had been for nothing.  
"My daddy had to go to the hospital, and he told me to go to nana's house"  
The lie slipped easily off his tongue and he even faked a sniffle to appear upset, hoping to gain some sympathy from the man.  
Neal knew that it could be dangerous going alone in a taxi but he hoped that the man was as nice as he looked. Neal had no other option, seeing as he couldn't read a map and that he was terrified of bumping into some shady person wandering the streets at night.  
"Where does your nana live?"  
He asked, his voice soft and kind. The man seemed experienced with kids and something about him made Neal feel that he was probably a father himself.  
He told him the address before he retrieved the stolen money from his pocket.  
"Is this enough?"  
He asked when the man grabbed the money and counted it. Neal could read from his facial expression that it wasn't but luckily the man just smiled and nodded.  
"Yes it is"  
He lied before he put the money away.  
"Buckle up, kiddo"  
Neal put the seatbelt on and the taxi driver started to drive.  
"My name is Ben, what's your name?"  
Neal wracked his brain for a name, if he used his own then maybe they could track him, and he didn't want that.  
"Nick"  
He finally answered.

Neal had to bite his tongue to prevent him from gasping at the nice and probably very expensive house.  
"This is it right?"  
Ben asked and Neal nodded before thanking him and getting out of the car.  
The taxi didn't leave as Neal walked to the front door, no it looked like Ben wanted to stay and make sure that Neal was gonna be taken care of.  
Neal took a deep breath before he knocked on the front door. He was nervous, he had no idea who to expect when the door opened, the only thing he knew about this June was that Mozzie trusted her and that he was gonna be safe here. Mozzie had promised he would be safe here.  
Despite that he still started to doubt his choice to run here. He flinched as a sudden bark could be heard, it sounded like a small dog. Then seconds later the door opened and a woman looked down at him. Before he could open his mouth the woman put her arms around him in a hug, Neal was confused until he realized that the woman was discreetly watching the taxi. She ushered him inside and she waited for the to taxi leave before she addressed him.  
"Welcome Neal"

Neal thanked June as she put a cup of hot chocolate in his tiny hands. He couldn't even remember the last time he drank hot chocolate. He carefully sipped his drink while petting the small dog that had decided that Neal's lap was the best sleeping spot.  
"Where did Mozzie go?"  
He asked, his voice quiet and uncertain. Neal had hoped for Mozzie to be here but there was no sign of the man anywhere.  
"Mozzie didn't tell you?"  
June asked and Neal shook his head. She put down her coffee cup and Neal put his cup down too, carefully as to not disturb the dog.  
"I'm sorry Neal but Mozzie had to leave"  
It felt as if someone punched him in the stomach. Mozzie left him, just like everyone else he ever cared about had. Neal had really believed that Mozzie was different, that they could be friends and perhaps one day even become partners in crime. Mozzie had promised to make him a pickpocket master and he had promised to teach Neal how to read, but apparently it was all just empty promises and Mozzie was not the kind person Neal thought he was.  
Neal didn't know if he was going to feel angry or sad and eventually the emotions got too much for him and tears escaped his eyes. Not even Mozzie wanted him.  
He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and he pulled away from June's gentle touch.  
"Neal let me explain"  
Neal didn't answer her, what could she possibly say that would make him feel better about being abandoned?  
"Mozzie placed a tracking device in a bag and gave it to Keller, then he called in an anonymous tip about the painting he stole, that's how the FBI found you"  
When the boy remained quiet the woman sighed and tried to find the best way to explain the situation to a six year old.  
"You see Neal, Mozzie told the police about Keller. There's something called honor among thieves, it simply means that criminals don't get other criminals caught."  
She paused to make sure that Neal understood before continuing.  
"Mozzie broke that rule and Keller is not happy about that"  
"But the FBI caught Keller, I heard them say that"  
"Keller is not working alone, he is controlled by someone else. The FBI got all the stolen things back so the person controlling Keller didn't get it, so whoever he or she is one thing is sure they will be mad. Mozzie had to leave because there are bad men looking for him and they want to hurt him"  
It took a couple of seconds for Neal to really understand what June had explained. Mozzie didn't want to abandon him, he did it because he had to. Mozzie had actually risked his life for Neal.  
Once he realized that Mozzie risked his life just to make sure Neal was safe he let out a sob. He was sad because Mozzie was gone but he was also overwhelmed by the idea of someone sacrificing so much for him.  
June reached out for him again and this time Neal didn't pull away, She ran a comforting hand through his hair as the pug started to lick Neal's hand in an attempt to calm the tiny human down.

June smiled as she draped a blanket over the now sleeping boy. He had dried tear tracks on his cheeks and he was clutching Bugsy close to his body like a teddy. The dog didn't seem to mind, he was sleeping just as tight as the young boy.  
She turned off all the lights except for a lamp near the couch, just to make sure that if Neal woke up, he wouldn't wake up in complete darkness.  
She turned around in the doorframe and observed the kid, and she wondered how anyone could ever mistreat that wonderful, innocent child.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a sudden burst of inspiration and managed to already get another chapter together . Hope you'll like it.

Peter groaned as something or someone tried to wake him up. He told whatever it was to go away but instead he got a harder push and a noise was heard, it took a couple of seconds for Peter to realize that it was a bark and once he did he was wide awake. Satchmo would never wake him up like this if it wasn’t important. Peter sat up as he felt Elizabeth moving next to him.  
“What’s going on?”  
Elizabeth asked in a sleepy, groggy voice.  
“I don’t know”  
Was all he could say while the dog impatiently whined and looked out into the hallway. For a second he was confused until he remembered the kid currently sleeping in the guest room. What if something was wrong with the kid? That thought caused him to almost fly out of bed and hurry after the dog.  
Satchmo stopped outside the room, confirming Peter’s fear. He had expected to find a crying kid, scared from a nightmare, but instead he found an empty bed. There was no sign of the kid.  
Satchmo barked, as if he was trying to tell Peter something.  
“Where is he, boy?”  
Satchmo barked again before he rushed down the stairs, almost tripping over his own legs, before stopping at the door. Alarm bells rang in Peter’s head and he opened the door to check for any signs of a forced entry, immediately suspecting that the kid had been taken again.  
He checked the alarm and saw that it was turned off. The kid had either been kidnapped by some very skilled people or the kid had left on his own. Peter suspected the latter.  
“What’s going on, hun?”  
Peter turned around to see his wife at the top of the stairs, she looked worried, sensing that something was wrong.  
“The kid ran, El. He just walked out of the house in the middle of the goddamn night”  
Peter tried to sound frustrated but it was clear to Elizabeth that her husband was worried about the boy. She walked down the stairs and put her arms around him.  
“You’ll find him, honey. I know you will”

Peter drove his car slowly down the street, hoping that the boy hadn’t gotten far. At one point he thought he saw him, running to hide behind a bush, but at closer thought it was probably just an animal. He spent a whole hour driving around the neighbourhood without finding the runaway kid, eventually realizing that it was useless to keep trying. He would have to wait until morning and then get Jones and Diana involved.

As Peter walked through his door he was met by Satchmo that emitted a low whine when he realized his master showed up alone.   
He patted the dog’s head before walking into the kitchen, where Elizabeth waited, drinking a cup of coffee and staring out the window.  
Peter poured a cup of coffee for himself, needing the energy since he understood that he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep and judging by Elizabeth’s worried face she wouldn’t either.  
Peter spent the rest of the night sitting in the couch, just holding his wife, trying to soothe her. He wasn’t particularly happy with the child disappearing into the night, the kid had been his responsibility and yet he managed to slip through his fingers. If the child ended up getting hurt he would never be able to forgive himself.

As he walked into the white collar division, Jones and Diana were both on the phone, he had called ahead and updated them about what had happened and they were both doing their best trying to find any information at all about the missing kid. He sighed wondering how they had gone from looking for a stolen painting to trying to find a runaway kid.  
He walked up the stairs and into the conference room where a woman was waiting, it was without a doubt the social worker. She had dark skin and big hazel eyes. She was young and dressed in a colourful dress with tiny dogs on them, he guessed that she wore that dress for the children’s amusement.  
He introduced himself to the social worker before sitting down.  
“Do you have any children matching the boy’s description?”  
Since the boy didn’t give them his parents names or even his own and no one had reported the child missing, they had to turn to the social services. They hoped that they had information about the boy, if not Peter’s work would get a lot harder trying to find the parents without any info at all.  
“We have one runaway kid matching your description”  
She answered before opening a file and pulling out a photograph of a young boy. The boy’s hair was shorter and he wasn’t as skinny but it was without a doubt the same boy that he had rescued yesterday.  
“That’s him”  
Peter confirmed and the social worker nodded before reading off the file.  
“His name is Neal Caffrey and he’s six years old”  
Peter raised his eyebrows, the boy had been both short and skinny and he didn’t think the boy looked to be a day over four.  
“His father had several arrests as well as a warrant when he disappeared into thin air and his mother committed suicide a little more than a year back. Neal spent four months being fostered by a couple, the Morgans, before it was discovered that he had been abused and barely fed”  
Peter felt sick over the fact that there were people that would even think of harming an innocent child.  
“He was placed with another couple, the Smiths, but he only stayed there for two months before running away to god knows where, my best bet it that the kid has been living on the street”  
Peter felt sorry for the kid that over the span of a little more than a year had been going through his mother’s suicide, abusive foster homes, living on the street and being kidnapped. It was no wonder the kid ran, he was most likely terrified of going back into another foster home.  
“So that means he spent what, 7 months or so living on the streets?”  
He asked, receiving a nod from her.  
“Was he abused in his second foster home?”  
“There’s no evidence of it but we can’t be sure. Only Neal and the Smiths would know, and they’re denying it. We recently found out that Neal’s previous case worker never did any form of check on the parents so it’s fully possible that the Smiths abused him and that’s why he ran away.”

There was a knock on the door and Peter couldn’t say he was surprised to see his wife standing there. She had always had strong maternal instincts so it wasn’t all surprising that she was worried sick about the boy and once she got this worried she had a hard time focusing on her job.  
He motioned for her to come in and she walked in with an apologetic smile on her face.  
“What are you doing here, hun?”  
“I was worried about the boy”  
Peter nodded, expecting that answer.  
“I also discovered that my money is missing”  
She said, showing him the empty wallet. The kid stole her money, something about that caused an idea to pop up in his head. They had just assumed the boy left by foot, but now that he knew the boy had money their job might’ve just gotten easier.  
“I have to speak to Diana and Jones”  
He said before exiting the room, leaving Elizabeth and the social worker alone in confusion.

Peter rushed towards his colleagues as they shook their heads.  
“I’ve got nothing boss”  
“Yeah, me neither”  
“I want you to check all buses, trains and taxis. Turns out the kid, Neal, took some money from El and I’m guessing he used the money for some transport, something tells me that kid is not brave enough to escape on foot in the middle of the night”  
“On it boss”  
Peter leaned against Jones’ desk while the two agents made several calls, everyone with a negative result until finally Diana hung up with a smile on her face.  
“A taxi driver named Ben Freeman reported that he drove a lone kid, named Nick, matching Neal’s description to his grandmother’s house at about 2 am.”  
“You got an address?”  
Diana nodded and wrote down the address on a post-it note and gave it to him.  
“Good, Diana you come with me. Jones you stay and update the social worker and El”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I say this like everytime but I'm really grateful for all the comments and kudos.  
> Reading the comments is really the highlight of my day and I'm so happy that you keep on reading and liking my story. You are the best :)

CHAPTER 12  
Peter was pleasantly surprised when he saw the house, he had been worried that the boy had ended up in a drug den or some other bad place. He just hoped that the boy was actually here and hadn’t used it as a fake address only to go somewhere else. Apparently the taxi driver had seen a woman hugging Neal, the woman that Neal had claimed was his grandmother. The social worker hadn't mentioned anything about any living grandparents, according to Neal’s file he was alone.  
Who was the woman who hugged Neal and how did she know the kid?  
Peter knocked on the door while Diana placed a hand on her gun, prepared for whatever waited for them on the other side of the door.  
An older woman opened the door, but based on her clothing she looked to be just a maid.  
“Is the lady of the house home?”  
Peter asked, politely, and the maid nodded.  
“And who are you, if I might ask?”  
“Peter Burke, FBI”  
The maid nodded and disappeared into the house. Soon another woman showed up, this one dressed in an expensive dress and holding a small dog in her arms.  
“What can I do for you agent?”  
“I’m here for the boy”  
“What boy?”  
The woman didn’t show any signs of being dishonest but Peter still didn’t believe her, it was more likely that she was just a very good liar.  
“You do realize that you can get into legal trouble for hiding the boy here?”  
Peter hoped that it would scare the woman but she didn’t even blink.  
“I don’t know what boy you are talking about, agent”  
Even though she sounded polite it was clear that she was far from happy to have the agents interrupt her day. The woman seemed stone cold and Peter quickly realized that she wasn’t going to budge.  
“Do you mind if we take a look around then?”  
“Do you have a warrant?”  
She responded without missing a single beat.  
Peter was about to respond when he heard a weak thump from upstairs.  
“That was my cat, not some boy that I decided to hide in my house”  
Yet again she showed no signs of lying and she actually sounded offended that they believed she was hiding a child in her home.  
Peter knew he should walk away and come back with a warrant but his gut feeling was telling him that Neal was here and that if he walked away the child would disappear again. That’s why he pushed her aside and walked upstairs, receiving both protests and glares from the woman.

Peter walked quietly and listened for any sounds. A floorboard creaked beneath him and he swore under his breath, the sound would probably cause the boy to hide.  
When he passed a door he heard a distant sound, it sounded like shuffling, as if someone was crawling on the floor. Peter immediately opened the door and was met with a small, furnished apartment with a balcony and big windows.  
There was a big bed and Peter instantly realized why he heard shuffling. The agent got down on his knees and his suspicion was confirmed when he saw two blue eyes staring back at him.  
Peter almost laughed at how much Neal reminded him of Satchmo the first time he had heard fireworks. The puppy had hid underneath their bed and Peter had spent hours trying to coax him out of there.  
“Come out kid”  
He called out but the boy stayed put. Peter sighed, he could just reach in there and drag the boy out but he didn’t want to hurt or scare the child.  
“I’m going to lift the whole bed if I have to but one way or another you’re getting out of there”  
There were no way Peter could lift the heavy bed but the kid seemed to believe him, and after carefully weighing his options the boy crawled out from his hiding spot.  
“Let’s go Neal”  
Neal looked at him when Peter used his name but then his eyes went back to his shoes.  
Peter grabbed the boy's thin shoulder and led him downstairs.

 

Once downstairs the woman was waiting for him, looking absolutely furious.  
“You had no right”  
She said looking ready to fight the agent if she needed to.  
Neal was the one to defuse the situation when he took one of her hands and gave her a small smile.  
“It’s okay June”  
June bent down so that Neal could give her a hug and then he whispered to her  
“When Mozzie comes back, tell him to find me”  
June nodded before she whispered back  
“You can always come back here. I will keep you safe”  
Then June let go of Neal and reluctantly let the boy leave with the agents. 

 

The car ride was silent and Neal could see both agents constantly looking back at him in the rearview mirror. Neal fought back the tears, he didn’t want to show himself weak. He had lied to June, it wasn’t okay. He said it was okay so that June wouldn’t do something and get in trouble , he lied to protect her.  
He was terrified of going back and he really wanted to cry but he just had to suck it up and wait until he had a chance to escape again.  
One thing was certain he was not going to stay at another foster home, he was tired of people hurting him. He didn’t know where to go, he couldn’t go right back to June and Mozzie was gone and the FBI would look for him. Maybe it was time for him to leave New York and find a home somewhere else.

They arrived at the bureau way too soon and Neal was reluctant to get out of the car, knowing what was waiting for him inside.  
His door was opened and Peter waited for him, sighing when the boy stayed put.  
“I can wait all day”  
Neal took a deep breath before getting out of the car, he didn’t want to make the man mad and provoke him into hurting Neal.  
Peter grabbed his hand to make sure he didn’t run away and Neal followed the agents inside.

It felt as if everyone was staring at him, and it was making him really uncomfortable. He felt the need to run but Peter was still holding on to his hand and the female agent was walking behind him.  
He was trapped so he kept his gaze on his shoes, trying to ignore the stares from the other agents. Peter led him to the conference room he’d been in the first time he visited the bureau. He had barely stepped inside the room when he was embraced by Elizabeth. She was warm and she smelled like flowers.  
“We were worried about you sweetie”  
Neal took a step back and gave the crouching woman a confused look. They were worried? Why would they be worried about him?  
Someone cleared their throat and he turned around to see a woman, he didn’t recognize her but he knew who she was as soon as he noticed the file clutched in her hands. She looked nicer and happier than the last social worker he met but that didn’t mean he liked her or wanted to go with her.  
“Hello Neal”  
Her voice was bright and gentle and if she had been the one to pick him up the first time then maybe he would’ve like her, but now he could just see her as an enemy.  
“I’m going to make sure that you find a good home, okay?”  
The social worker took a step closer to him and Neal responded by taking one back.  
Elizabeth, who was still crouching, gently grabbed the boy ,careful not to scare him. The social worker had updated her about Neal’s past and she didn’t want the boy to believe that she wanted to hurt him in any way.  
“I know you’re scared baby, but we’re gonna make sure it’s good this time”  
Neal didn’t know if it was the fact that Elizabeth looked so much like his mother or if it was the word baby, the word his mother always called him, that caused him to throw his arms around Elizabeth and clinging onto her like a lifeline.  
Neal had tried to be strong, he had really tried, but he couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Being in this room with the social worker made the situation real and he realized that he was just hours away from going back to hell.  
As the first sob wracked through his body he could feel Elizabeth rubbing his back while whispering soothing words to him.  
“I don’t wanna go back”  
He sobbed, closing his eyes and imagining that it was his mother that comforted him. He wanted her with him so bad.  
“I’m sorry but you have to go baby”  
Neal started to cry even harder and clung onto Elizabeth even tighter, refusing to let her go, right now she was the closest thing he got to his mother and he didn’t want to leave her.  
“I don’t want to go, mommy”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've really been struggling with this chapter and I'm not completely happy with it, but my friend convinced me that it was good enough to post so here we go. That being said, if you don't like it blame my friend and not me.  
> All mistakes are still mine :)

CHAPTER 13  
Peter couldn’t believe his ears when Neal called his wife mommy and he couldn’t believe the look on his wife’s face. It was the same look she had the first time she met Satchmo, she had picked up that puppy and refused to let go until Peter caved and agreed on getting the puppy. This situation wasn’t as easy though, this was not a puppy this was a child and they couldn’t just take him home. He knew that Elizabeth knew this as well but that didn’t stop her from giving him that look that he just couldn’t resist.  
Peter also knew that even if he tried to argue El would win in the end. The boy’s slip up with the name was all it took for Elizabeth’s heart to break and she would protect the child with her life.  
“Peter”  
She pleaded and he knew what he had to do, there was just no way Elizabeth was going the let the child go.  
The agent turned around to the social worker but before he even got the chance to ask the question she smiled at him, understanding exactly what had happened.  
“I’ll pull some strings, see what I can do”  
With those words the social worker left to make some calls.

Peter sat down in one of the chairs while he watched his wife calming the child down, Neal’s sobs slowly quieting down to sniffles.  
Peter knew what the social worker was going to investigate, if they could become foster parents and take care of Neal. Of course he wanted the boy to have a good home but he wasn’t sure if his home was the best for the kid. Peter didn’t know how to take care of a child, he could barely have a conversation with one without feeling awkward. It didn’t help that this particular child wasn’t a normal child, no he was a child with a tragic past and many issues to work through.  
Peter felt the urge to back out of this before it was too late but then he glanced over at his wife.  
He definitely didn’t know how to take care for children but Elizabeth sure had a natural talent for it. She had always understood kids and always felt a connection to them, she had always wanted her own but it just had never happened for them.  
Looking at them now they looked like they belonged together, if he was an outsider he wouldn’t doubt for a second that they were mother and son.  
The thought caused Peter to smile, even though he had his own insecurities he couldn’t possibly deny the love of his life the happiness that child would bring.

By the time the social worker returned Elizabeth had moved to a chair, Neal in her lap still clinging onto her.  
“I have pulled all the strings I possibly can”  
He could hear Elizabeth shushing Neal as he started to fuss, most likely still being scared of going back and leaving Elizabeth’s embrace.  
“Your chances are good. We will have to do both a personal evaluation as well as an evaluation of your home. If you pass then you might be able to take care of him, but there will be a lot of paperwork and information before you can officially become his foster parents. You will both need to know how to best take care of a child who-“  
The social worker interrupted herself before adding  
“Needs a foster home”  
She was about to say a child who has been abused but thought better of it, not wanting to remind the child of his past.  
“We’ll do whatever it takes”  
Elizabeth said while Neal looked over at the social worker, his eyes red from all the crying. Peter thought he saw something in the child’s face, something like gratitude.

Neal eagerly grabbed the badge Jones offered him, he had never seen one up close before, like most kids Neal was fascinated with cops and similar law enforcement agencies.  
Peter and Elizabeth was talking to the social worker in the conference room and he hadn’t been allowed to go with them. Neal had refused to let go of Elizabeth and when Peter finally managed to pry the child of his wife, he had started to scream and kick, simply acting like a wild animal.  
It wasn’t until Jones swooped in, offering to show him around the office and let him look at his desk and some cases, that Neal finally calmed down and agreed to follow the agent.  
Once in awhile the boy did glance up at the room, just to make sure that they were still there.  
Jones handed him one of the case files and even though Neal couldn’t understand what it was saying, he still spent minutes staring at them in total fascination.  
After peering through some of the casefiles Diana showed up and handed him a juice box, which he enjoyed while Jones told him stories about some of their cases.

As soon as Peter opened the door he could hear Neal’s giggling, and he couldn’t help but smile when he looked down in the bullpen. Jones was telling some clearly exaggerated stories of their cases while making both voices and funny faces.  
Seeing the boy’s happy face, and hearing that light, childish giggle was enough to convince him that he had made the right choice.  
He felt Elizabeth grab his hand and squeeze it, knowing that she was feeling the same.  
Even Diana started to join in on the voices, apparently the boy had managed to worm his way into their hearts as well, and Peter predicted that the child would grow up to be quite the charmer.  
They waited until Jones had finished his story before they walked down the stairs together with the social worker, who had also seemed amused by the scene in the bullpen.  
“We’re going to inspect the house now, you ready to go?”  
Neal’s smile disappeared when the social worker addressed him, even if she had done her best for Neal to be able to stay with the Burkes, he still didn’t seem to trust her.  
He gave a slight nod before he jumped off his chair, waved goodbye to the agents and then grabbed Elizabeth’s hand.

The social worker was asking a million questions at once, about everything from the neighbourhood to the condition of the house. She checked what kind of food they had at home, checked the guest room and made sure Peter had a good safe to lock away his gun in. Peter couldn’t answer half of the questions but luckily Elizabeth seemed to be able to answer every single one of them. Peter stayed back, now and then checking on the boy currently playing with Satchmo in the living room.  
It felt like an eternity later but finally the social worker seemed happy and they ended up at the kitchen table drinking coffee.  
The social worker spent minutes talking about different trainings, the finances and even mentioned a couple of good child psychologists but eventually Elizabeth couldn’t take it anymore.  
“I’m sorry for interrupting but I just have to know. Did we pass the evaluations?”  
The wild play between the dog and the boy ceased and a couple of blue curious, but also fearful eyes looked at the adults. Even Satchmo seemed to understand the situation and regarded the humans with begging brown eyes.  
The social worker smiled and nodded.  
“In my opinion you are perfect as foster parents”  
Elizabeth yet again squeezed Peter’s hand, waiting for the final verdict.  
“I’m going to allow Neal to stay for the night and tomorrow we’ll start the process of making you official foster parents”

Neal couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he was allowed to stay. He had been hoping for it but he hadn’t really expecting it. It was almost too good to be true and without even thinking he got up and ran to the social worker, throwing his arms around her while thanking her.  
Then he let go of her and ran over to Elizabeth, practically throwing himself up in her lap, hugging her tight.  
He felt Peter’s hand rubbing his back. Everything felt perfect until out of nowhere the memories hit him. This felt like déjà vu.  
He remembered clearly how happy the Smiths had been when they first met him. Mrs Smith had hugged him and Mr Smith had given him a piggyback ride. They had been so happy and kind even though he was bruised and shy.  
They were his dream parents until they realized how demanding a 5 year old could be and the dream started to fade. It had started with the yelling but soon it escalated to Mrs Smith slapping him across the face. After that both of them started to hit him and eventually Mr Smith went too far and pushed him down the stairs. Neal had miraculously not been hurt more than a couple of bruises but his trust in the adults was dead.  
After that he ran away and never looked back. Now when he closed his eyes the Smiths were replaced with Peter and Elizabeth. It took all of Neal’s willpower to fake a smile and keep the tears at bay.  
Elizabeth looked so much like his mother, but he had to realize that it didn’t mean she would be as kind as her in the end. He realized that he had to run away again after all, he couldn’t trust the Burkes because in his world there were no kind foster parents.

The kid had gone awfully quiet and withdrawn when the social worker left, he didn’t even want to play with Satchmo or eat ice cream.  
Elizabeth was worried, Peter could tell by the way she was washing the same plate for the third time.  
“I’m worried about him Peter. He was so happy and then he suddenly went quiet. What if he don’t want to be here or what if he’s sick or-?”  
“Hey”  
Peter interrupted her worried rant and put his arms around her in an embrace from behind.  
“He’s been living alone on the street for a long time, it’s a big change for him. He probably feel a lot of insecurities regarding us and we just have to make him understand that we’re not gonna hurt him, okay?”  
When Elizabeth nodded he placed a kiss on top of her head.

Peter left Elizabeth in the kitchen to check up on the boy and found him sitting on the floor, whispering to Satchmo, but as soon as he heard Peter he stopped and looked away as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. Oh how Peter wished Satchmo could talk so he could tell him what Neal had been saying.  
“Hey Neal you want to come with me and Satch for a walk?”  
Neal shook his head  
“I wanna go to bed”  
Peter looked at the clock in confusion, he thought children was supposed to argue about going to bed late, not wanting to go to sleep when it wasn’t even dark outside yet.  
“Already? It’s still pretty early”  
“I want to go to bed Peter”  
Neal said with such a determined tone that Peter couldn’t possibly turn him down.

When Peter returned from his walk Elizabeth was propped up on the couch watching a movie.  
He sat down next to her, putting her arm around her shoulders.  
“Neal must’ve been exhausted, he’s already fast asleep”  
She told him and there was something about the whole thing didn't sit right with Peter. Something was wrong here but he didn’t know what.  
What if Neal planned on running away again? Peter was not up for another search for the child and now he had a greater responsibility to keep the child safe.  
That was why he decided to sleep on the couch tonight with Satchmo next to him, that way the child couldn’t leave the house without him knowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some research about becoming foster parents in New York but the process seemed too long so I simplified it a little :)


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Neal’s plan was perfect. By going to bed early he woke up earlier than the adults and he could make his escape. He felt a little bad about escaping, but he knew it was for the best. The Burkes would just like the Morgans and the Smiths realize that Neal was way too much to deal with and they would regret their choice to take care of him. Everyone had always regretted that choice, everyone except his own mother or maybe even she regretted it. The last week of her life Neal had been nothing but a bother. Maybe Neal just wasn’t meant to have a family.  
With that thought echoing in his head he quietly descended the stairs.  
Neal reached for the alarm but just as he pressed the first button a light turned on in the living room.  
“Going for a walk?”  
Neal knew he was busted so he slowly turned around to see Peter sitting in the couch, Satchmo sitting proudly next to him. The dog had probably alerted Peter as soon as he heard the boy heading for the stairs. Neal glared at the dog, feeling betrayed. He had told Satchmo his plan and begged the dog not to rat him out this time but it looked like the dog hadn’t listened to him.

Neal hung his head, waiting for Peter to get up and yell at him or even hit him, but Peter stayed put until Neal looked at him. The agent calmly patted the space next to him and Neal reluctantly walked over and sat down on the couch.  
“Why do you want to escape, Neal?”  
Peter asked but the boy remained quiet, looking down on his worn out sneakers.  
“You seemed very happy when the social worker said you could stay”  
Neal remained quiet and he could hear Peter sigh deeply.   
“How about I make you a deal?”  
Neal looked up at Peter. He had never had a foster parent willing to reason with him before, they had all just ignored what he wanted since he was only a child and they were the adults.   
“How about you stay here for a week and if you’re not happy then you tell us and we will let you go”  
Neal couldn't believe his ears, he just needed to stay for one week and then he could go. He could leave the foster system behind and he could stay at June’s and wait for Mozzie.  
“Do we have a deal?”  
“Yes”  
Neal answered eagerly before shaking Peter’s hand. Just one week before he was free forever.

Peter of course had no intention of letting the child go, he had only told a necessary lie. The couch wasn’t that comfortable and Peter didn’t want to spend every night on it just to prevent the child from escaping. He was also hoping that a week from now the boy didn’t even want to escape, he hoped that a week would be enough to make the child understand that they didn’t want to hurt him.  
The agent realized that the boy wouldn’t trust them if they promised they were not going to hurt him, they were gonna have to prove it to him. Peter didn’t know the details about Neal’s background but he had experience in dealing with victims of abuse. They had more often than not lost their faith in other people’s words and he guessed that was the case with Neal as well. He had a feeling that with Neal actions spoke louder than words.   
“It’s only 4 am, you could still get some sleep”  
“Not tired”  
The boy answered before he got down on the floor to pet the dog.  
Peter was still tired but there was no way he was going back to sleep when Neal was still awake. Even if he wouldn’t escape, Peter dreaded what the boy could get up to without any adult supervision.  
So instead he reached for the remote and turned on the tv. He zapped through the channels trying to find something child appropriate. The only thing he could find was some old black and white movie. While Peter was displeased with the lack of sport games ,Neal seemed intrigued by the movie. The boy got up from the floor and sat down next to him again.  
Peter rarely watched these kind of movies, except for when Elizabeth forced him to. Peter had been hoping that the kid would be into sports like himself but it seemed like he had ended up with another El.

Satchmo pushed at his leg and Peter opened his eyes. It was the tenth time he had almost fallen asleep.  
“I’m awake”  
He mumbled before looking beside him, surprised but relieved that Neal had finally lost his struggle to stay awake and was sleeping soundly.  
The man couldn’t help but smile at the sight, how could he not when the boy looked so innocent and adorable in his sleep.  
Peter was just debating about whether he should leave the child in the couch or carry him upstairs when the boy stirred in his sleep and his tiny head ended up on Peter’s lap.  
Peter didn’t have the heart to move him so instead he turned off the tv and closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep.

The first thing Elizabeth noticed when she woke up was the absence of her husband. It took her a few seconds before she remembered that he was sleeping downstairs tonight, and there was nothing to worry about. At least that’s what she thought until she decided to check in on Neal and only found an empty bed. Suddenly she was not only worried but furious.  
Neal had ran away again and Peter hadn’t even bothered to wake her up?  
Peter would have to get really comfortable on that couch because he would spend the next month or so sleeping on it.  
She hurried down the stairs but came to a halt when she saw the couch. All the anger and worry disappeared and instead she had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from letting out a big ‘aww’ at the sight in front of her.  
Peter was sitting up, his head against his shoulder, and lightly snoring while Neal was snuggled up to Peter. His head pressed against Peter’s chest while Peter’s arm was wrapped protectively around Neal’s body. Satchmo was placed by their feet, looking more satisfied than ever.  
Elizabeth grabbed her phone and took a photo of the trio.  
She stood there watching them for minutes, thinking about how right the picture was. It was like Neal was a puzzle piece missing from their family. She had spent years wishing for a child, and finally there he was, the perfect child for them.  
She wiped away her tears before walking into the kitchen, ready to make breakfast for her three favourite boys.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to get this chapter together, but I'm not 100% happy with it. Hopefully you will like it, if not I'm sorry.  
> All mistake's are still mine :)

The smell of coffee was the first thing Peter registred when he woke up. The smell of coffee meant that Elizabeth was awake and that it was morning. He groaned as both his neck and his back hurt from sleeping in this awkward position. Why was he even sleeping sitting up?  
Peter opened his eyes and saw that he was still on the couch and as he looked to his left he saw Neal sleeping, tucked under his arm.  
“Isn’t he adorable?”  
Peter looked up and saw his wife looking at them, a cup of coffee in her hands.  
“Yeah, I guess he is”  
“Breakfast is ready so you might as well wake him up”  
She ordered before returning to the kitchen. Peter looked down at the boy one last time, wishing he could always be asleep. When the boy was asleep then at least Peter knew where he was and that he wouldn’t run away. Too bad letting him sleep wasn’t an option.  
He shook the boy’s shoulder and watched as he slowly woke up, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny fists.  
Neal opened his eyes and looked around, seemingly confused over what he was doing here. His eyes landed on Peter and he immediately sat up, his cheeks turning red.  
Peter just chuckled at his embarrassment before patting the boy’s back.  
“It’s time for breakfast”

Neal got off the couch and walked over to the dining table with Satchmo by his side. After striking the deal with Peter, Neal forgave the dog’s betrayal. Satchmo left his side when he saw Elizabeth place a small pancake in the dog’s bowl. The dog seemed to love pancakes. Wait, pancakes?  
Neal came to a halt and looked at the plate placed on the table. On the plate was a stack of pancakes and they smelled absolutely delicious. Neal was confused though because you were only allowed to eat pancakes on your birthday. His mommy had told him that probably a million times.  
“Pancakes?”  
He asked and Elizabeth suddenly looked scared.  
“You don’t like pancakes?”  
Neal climbed up on one of the chairs.  
“I love pancakes, but you’re only allowed to eat them on your birthday”  
The adults looked taken aback by his words before Elizabeth smiled and placed a pancake on his plate.  
“Well it might not be your birthday but it’s your first day living with us, and I think that’s worth celebrating”  
Neal didn’t know what to say. No fosterparents had ever given him pancakes before or thought that his first day was something to celebrate.  
“Thank you”  
He said and Elizabeth gave him a warm smile.  
“You’re welcome”  
She then placed some vanilla ice cream on his pancakes and Neal took a big bite. He felt a bit like a traitor to think that these pancakes were the best he’d ever had, even better than his mommys. 

The adults kept the conversation light, careful not to ask too serious questions and make the boy go quiet. Instead they asked simple questions like what was his favourite colour, his favourite animal and what he liked to do. The breakfast went by smoothly and it wasn’t until they were finished and Elizabeth informed Neal that they had both taken the day off so they could all go shopping, that they hit a bump in the road.  
Neal needed new clothes, and a new shirt meant taking off the white, dirty t-shirt. Mozzie’s t-shirt. After ten minutes of arguing Neal finally gave in and agreed on letting Elizabeth wash it, he had to agree that it was really dirty and besides it didn’t even smell like Mozzie anymore.  
Neal had to be fine with that, after all he didn’t have to wear the shirt to be reminded of Mozzie, he just had to keep it. Then when he was reunited with Mozzie he could give it back to him.  
“Why don’t you go and get cleaned up and then we can get going, okay?”  
Neal nodded at Elizabeth’s words before grabbing his plate and his glass to put it in the kitchen. Satchmo grabbed one of his toys, believing that the child wanted to play and ran up to him, and inevitably the small boy got pushed by the careless dog and lost his balance. Neal fell to floor and so did the dishes, the plate survived but the glass broke into a thousand pieces.  
Neal immediately started to cry, not because it hurt but because the last time he broke a glass he had been slapped and sent to his room for the rest of the day. When he saw both adults get up, he instantly believed that they were going to hurt him. His fear caused him to cry even harder and crawl backwards until he was stopped by Peter shouting.  
“No, Neal don’t move”  
To Neal he sounded angry and he closed his eyes, waiting for Peter to hit him. 

It happened so quickly, one second Neal was cleaning up his dishes and the next Satchmo sent him crashing to the floor. It wasn’t until the boy started to cry that they processed what had happened and they both got up, believing that the boy was hurt. Neal’s cries got louder and he suddenly started to crawl backwards, his hand just inches away from the broken glass.  
Peter shouted to him, told him not to move, and the boy went limp with fear.  
The adults looked at each other, both feeling heartbroken over the fact that Neal honestly thought they were going to hurt him.  
Peter walked over and lifted the boy up while Elizabeth got Satchmo out of the way so that the dog wouldn’t get glass shards in his sensitive paws.  
Peter rubbed the boy’s back, while using his softest voice to assure Neal that it was alright. 

Neal was confused as to why Peter didn’t hurt him. Instead of hitting him, the agent just picked him up and started to comfort him. When his cries died down he was placed on one of the kitchen chairs. Peter kneeled in front of him, so that they were at the same eye level.  
“I’m sorry that I scared you Neal, but you almost put your hand right on the glass. I just wanted to stop you from getting hurt, okay?”  
That was new, Peter wanted to prevent him from getting hurt instead of causing him to get hurt.  
That was a totally foreign concept for Neal, not even his mommy did that. His mommy didn’t even try to stop his daddy from hurting him.  
He looked over to see Elizabeth cleaning up the glass and he felt bad, it wasn’t her mess to clean.  
“I’m sorry”  
Neal said but Elizabeth just smiled.  
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for, sweetheart”  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Neal looked around him in awe. He had never been in a mall before, his mommy had only taken him to buy clothes in thrift shops. They had to buy the cheapest clothes since his daddy needed money for his alcohol. Sometimes she didn’t even have any money so they had to smuggle clothes into a backpack that she forced Neal to wear.  
The stores were so much nicer than what he was used to and he wanted to run around and look at everything, something the Burkes were not too happy about. 

Peter sighed as he for the tenth time reminded Neal not to run away, only for the boy to completely disregard his orders.  
“You know, hun, we should really consider buying one of those kid leashes”  
He suggested but Elizabeth just laughed and shook her head.  
“At the very least we should put a tracking anklet on him.”  
Peter grumbled as Neal came back to them, after checking out god knows what. He grabbed the boy’s hand.  
“Stop running away or I’ll put you on a leash”  
Apparently the boy wasn’t frightened by his threat, instead he just giggled.  
“I’m not a dog, Peter”  
No Neal was not a dog. A dog would actually listen.  
Finally, they reached the store El was looking for, her favourite clothing store. Of course, she would pick that one so that she could look at some clothes for herself as well. Peter sighed again, this was going to be a long day. 

Neal let Elizabeth pick out his clothes for him, he had learned over the years to not be too picky. Although he did put his foot down when some of the t-shirts were way too childish for him.  
She bought several t-shirts, sweaters, pants, underwear, socks, two jackets, two pair of shoes and even a fancy suit. Neal looked at Peter in confusion, had he not told her that Neal wasn’t going to stay with them for long? This was all unnecessary for only a week.  
Neal didn’t have the heart to point it out though, she looked so happy while she picked out clothes for him as if she had always dreamed about shopping for a child.  
Neal left Elizabeth’s side to look around, coming to a halt when he saw a grey fedora on a shelf. He couldn’t help but reach out for it and place it on his head. It was a perfect fit, as if the hat was made for his head.  
“Well don’t you look handsome?”  
Elizabeth said as the boy blushed and put the hat back. He really, really, really wanted the hat but he knew better than to beg for it.  
“If you want it, you can get it”  
Elizabeth said and Neal instantly grabbed the hat again and placed it on his head ,while Peter shook his head, not really understanding why the boy wanted the hat so bad.

As Peter expected, as soon as they were done shopping clothes for Neal, Elizabeth walked to the women’s section.  
“I thought we were shopping for Neal”  
He pointed out but Elizabeth either didn’t hear him or ignored him, he guessed that it was the latter.  
“Why don’t you two go to the toy store and pick some things out?”  
“Toys?”  
The question was quiet and the boy sounded uncertain as if he wasn’t sure he had heard her right.  
“You’ve never had toys before?”  
Peter asked and Neal shook his head.  
“My daddy said I should play with rocks and other stuff I could find. He said toys ruins children’s cre-“  
Neal stopped and frowned.  
“Cre-”  
The boy seemed to be struggling with the word.  
“Creativity?”  
Elizabeth tried and Neal nodded. It was the first time Neal had mentioned his father but he didn’t seem to be the father of the year. What kind of father wouldn’t let his kid have a toy?  
Peter couldn’t possibly see how toys would ruin a child’s creativity, instead he guessed that Neal’s father was just too cheap to buy his son some toys.  
“The Smiths said they were gonna buy me toys but they never did”  
Okay this child really needed some toys.  
“Come on, bud. Let’s get you some toys”  
He said before grabbing Neal’s hand. 

There were so many toys that Neal almost got dizzy. Peter told him to pick any toy that he wanted but how was he supposed to choose?  
He ran around, looking at every single toy until finally he saw the perfect one. It was a cuddly toy that looked exactly like Satchmo.  
“I want this one, Peter”  
He said to the man, who were out of breath from chasing the child around. Neal frowned at the agent.  
Wasn’t he supposed to chase after criminals? How could he do that if he got tired from just a little running in the toy store?  
When Elizabeth joined them she picked out a pack with toy cars, some lego, a drawing pad and some crayons.  
Neal felt bad because he knew that all of this would cost so much money and he wouldn’t even be able to use it for more than a week, but everytime he worked up the courage to tell Elizabeth he saw her smile and he just couldn’t tell her.  
He really hoped that they could find another kid after him, someone who could enjoy all this stuff.  
“How about some books Neal?”  
Neal shook his head.  
“Really? There’s some really fun ones that you could read”  
They didn’t know that he couldn’t read and he didn’t want to tell them. He knew that children his age was supposed to be able to read, at least the easiest books. Neal didn’t know more than what Mozzie taught him.  
“I don’t want any books”  
He said, determined but Elizabeth didn’t back down.  
“It’s important to read Neal, it’s a really great and a fun way to learn”  
“I don’t want any books!”  
He said, stomping his foot. The adults nodded at him and he was happy to get his way, completely missing when Elizabeth grabbed a couple of books of the shelf and placed them with the other things.

Their next stop was a grocery store, one that was much nicer than the one his mommy had shopped at.  
It was much bigger and the floor was really shiny, he could even see himself in it.  
Neal stayed obediently at their side until they stopped to pick out cereals. From the cereal aisle you could clearly see the sea of candy and Neal sprinted away.  
He had never seen so much candy in one place and in such great variety. He didn’t even know where to start.  
It was the toy dilemma all over again but finally he spotted a familiar chocolate bar. His parents rarely gave him candy but when they did it was always that chocolate bar.  
He was staring at the candy when the Burkes caught up with him, Peter yet again telling him off for running away from them.  
“We’re done now Neal”  
Elizabeth said and Neal looked at her and then the candy, as if she could read his mind and apparently, she could.  
“If you want something sweet, we have some ice cream at home. If you’re nice we can get some candy for the weekend, okay?”  
Neal nodded at her but he still wanted the chocolate bar so bad. As soon as the adults turned away to head for the registers, he reached out and grabbed the chocolate bar and put it in his pocket before running after the adults.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said it before but I'm gonna say it again, thank you for all the comments, I love reading them and re-reading them and they get me inspired to continue. Thank you all for reading and giving kudos, it makes me so happy.  
> Okay that's it from me. All mistakes are still mine

Before they left the mall they stopped to buy a car seat, something Neal wasn’t too happy about.  
The adults calmly but firmly explained that it was the law and that it was for his safety. Neal’s annoyance was replaced by a sadness over the fact that he couldn’t remember ever being in a car seat before. None of his previous foster parents, or even his real parents, had ever cared about that law or his safety in a car.  
Suddenly the chocolate bar felt heavy in his pocket and he started to feel bad about taking it. The Burkes had been really nice and he didn’t want to ruin the day by making them angry at him.  
While Neal debated with himself what to do, they reached the car and Peter put the car seat in the back before gesturing for him to get in. Neal got in, and once seated he decided that it was now or never. He opened his mouth to confess his crime but before any words came out Peter spoke  
“What’s this?”  
Neal looked down to see that Peter had moved the oversized shirt out of the way, while getting him secured in the seat, and the square shape of the candy in his pocket was now clearly visible for the agent. Peter reached out and pulled out the chocolate bar from his pocket.  
“Did you take this?”  
He asked and Neal looked away from him, not wanting to face his anger. Neal knew that he had done something wrong, his mommy had always told him that stealing was only okay if you were in need or if mommy told you to do it. No one told him to do it and he didn’t need it, he had just wanted it and that, according to his mommy, made his stealing wrong.  
“Neal, look at me”  
Surprisingly Peter didn’t sound angry and when he finally looked back at the agent, the man didn’t even look angry at all, he just looked disappointed.  
“Did you take this?”  
He repeated and it was something about the way Peter looked at him that made it impossible for him to lie ,so instead he nodded.  
“I took it. I’m sorry”  
The boy confessed while tears began to fall. Peter nodded before turning away, showing the chocolate bar to Elizabeth. She instantly knew what had happened and the adults started to quietly whisper to each other before Elizabeth turned to him.  
“Get out of the car, honey”  
She said and Neal obeyed. She grabbed his hand and started to walk back to the mall.  
Neal was confused, he had expected them to go right back home and then punish him. He knew from experience that he wouldn’t get hurt in public. Maybe they were going to leave him here?  
“Where are we going?”  
He asked, trying to not sound scared.  
“We’re going to return the chocolate bar to the store”  
Neal frowned, he had never ever returned anything that he had stolen before.

Once in the store Elizabeth walked up to an employee, Neal sniffling by her side. She had given him the chocolate bar and he was clutching it tight in his hands.  
“Hi, Mrs Burke”  
The employee greeted, she had been sure to go to an employee she knew just to make sure that the employee would be nice to the child.  
“Hello, Sally. This is Neal and he has something to tell you”  
When the boy didn’t speak, she gave him a gentle nudge. The boy sniffled before looking up at the employee.  
“I took this candy, I’m sorry”  
He said and gave the chocolate bar to the young woman.  
“Thank you for returning it Neal, but please don’t do it again, okay?”  
Sally waited until Neal nodded before continuing.  
“Because we get very sad when people take our things without paying”  
The boy nodded and then hung his head and Elizabeth felt satisfied, she had wanted the boy to feel guilty about his action and realize that it affected the people he stole from. Hopefully the boy would learn his lesson and not repeat the stealing.  
Elizabeth thanked Sally before returning to their car where Peter waited.

Neal spent the ride home thinking. He had never wanted to make anyone sad, and he wondered how many people he had stolen from and how sad they had gotten. Neal also wondered if that was it or if they would punish him when they returned to the house.  
Once they returned home, Peter told him to sit down on the couch while Elizabeth unpacked all the bags. The agent sat down on the coffee table and made sure the kid looked at him before he began his lecturing.  
Peter told him that it was not okay to steal, and he even talked about some criminals at his work and what consequences you could get if you stole things when you were an adult.  
It didn’t fit with his mother’s words about stealing, and he felt confused. Should he trust an FBI agent, that he had know for just a couple of days or should he trust his own mother.  
Despite his confusion, he nodded when Peter asked if he understood.  
The man stood up and automatically the boy flinched, expecting that the man would hit him now that the lecture was over. The seconds passed and the agent didn’t even move, slowly he lifted his head and looked up at the agent, whose eyes looked sad.  
“I’m not going to hurt you”  
Peter said, his voice soft and Neal wanted to believe him.  
“I always get hit when I do something wrong”  
Neal said in a low voice. Of course he got hit a lot even when he didn’t do anything wrong, but he left that part out. He had been taught not reveal too much details to adults.  
Peter sat down again and put a hand on his knee.  
“And that is wrong, okay? No one should ever hurt you, no matter what you do”  
Neal didn’t know what got into him but suddenly he stood up and threw his arms around Peter, much like the first time they met.  
Peter hugged him back and he waited until the boy backed away before giving him his punishment.  
“El and I decided that a time-out would be enough as a punishment this time, but if you do it again the punishment will be bigger”  
“A time-out?”  
Neal asked, not familiar with any other punishments then being locked inside his room or being hit.  
Elizabeth grabbed one of the chairs and put it in the corner.  
“You will sit here for five minutes”  
Even if sitting still and doing nothing for five minutes didn’t sound that attractive to Neal, it still was so much better than what he had expected, so he sat down on the chair without hesitating.

As soon as Neal sat down, Peter walked over to his wife. He could see that she was upset by the fact that Neal was used to being abused. She had tried to hide it from the boy but now when he wasn’t looking at them, a few tears escaped from her eyes.  
He put his arms around her and Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulder.  
He understood how she felt, he felt just the same. No child should ever be abused and no child should ever get used to it.

Soon five minutes had passed and Neal was allowed to get up. He changed his clothes, for the first time in who knows how long. The boy chose a couple of jeans and a grey t-shirt with the cookie monster on it.  
The boy was quiet after his punishment. He just obediently helped Elizabeth sort the clothes and toys, the boy did frown at the books though and refused to touch them.  
Both of the adults wondered why Neal was so against books.  
After about an hour of Neal being quiet, Satchmo finally managed to get the boy to play with him and soon the house was filled with Neal’s laughter and Satchmo’s playful barking.  
Peter and Elizabeth got some coffee and sat down at the table, not feeling the need to speak to each other, they were both perfectly happy with just watching the boy and dog.  
Peter couldn’t stop himself from smiling like an idiot, it no longer felt awkward to have the boy around, it was quite the opposite actually, it felt kind of natural.  
He could definitely get used to having the boy around and he really hoped that the boy didn’t want to run in a week.  
The doorbell rang and Peter got up to answer it.  
It was the social worker and she was carrying a stack of papers. She was let in and he saw her smile widely as she saw the boy playing wildly with the dog.  
“Looks like things are going good”  
She commented before sitting down at the table where Elizabeth gave her a cup of coffee.

Neal had tried to eavesdrop on their conversation but there were too many complicated words for him, but he did understand enough to know that it was papers related to them becoming his foster parents.  
It felt like the adults were talking for hours but finally the social worker left.  
“Are you my foster parents now?”  
Neal asked and Elizabeth got up and walked over to him.  
“Not yet, sweetie. It’s a process but soon.”  
She gently pulled her fingers through his hair.  
“Do you want to help me make some dinner?”  
Neal nodded eagerly and followed her into the kitchen.

After dinner they ended up on the couch, eating ice cream and watching The Lion King.  
Neal was placed between the two adults and once in awhile he glanced up at them. He wanted to believe so bad that he was safe here and that they actually wanted to be his parents. His first whole day with them had, despite his shoplifting incident, been good.  
Of course, there was still that voice inside his head chanting not to trust them and get ready to run.  
Neal really hoped that the voice was wrong and that he could finally find a safe, loving home, the one he’d always dreamed about.  
He yawned, and without even thinking about it he leaned his head against Peter who responded by placing his arm around him.  
He could feel Elizabeth’s hand gently caressing his back and he was so comfortable that he instantly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that apart from my own childhood and my 4 year old brother, I have no experience with children.  
> So I googled and this was how most parents said they would deal with a shoplifting situation. So I do hope that it seems like a good and realistic way to deal with it


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you for all the comments and kudos, I can honestly never thank you enough.  
> Secondly I do have a lot of ideas for this fic but I'm not sure if I should use all of them. I love writing this fic, but at the same time I can't really tell if the quality of my chapter are decreasing or not. So my question here is; should I try to wrap this fic up soon or should I continue writing it, making it around 30 chapters or more?  
> Please let me know what you think :)

When Neal woke up, he quickly sat up as he for a second didn’t recognize his surroundings, but after a few seconds he realized that he was in the Burkes’ guestroom. He frowned, the last thing he remembered was sitting in the couch and watching a movie with Peter and Elizabeth. Neal couldn’t remember going upstairs and when he looked down at himself, he saw that he was dressed in light blue pajamas with a dog on the shirt. He definitely didn’t remember putting that on.  
Unless he was sleepwalking, Peter must have carried him upstairs and he guessed that the adults had worked together to get his limp body into a pajama.  
Neal was actually touched by this, when he lived at home and fell asleep he was never carried to his room, instead his father just roughly shook him awake and telling him to ‘get off the goddamn couch before I kick your ass’.  
Neal couldn’t help but smile as he got out of bed and walked over to the closet. Sometime yesterday Elizabeth had found the time to place all his clothes in it. Neal picked a couple of black pants and a green t-shirt with a dinosaur on it before getting ready to leave the room.  
As he reached the doorframe, some invisible force pulled him back to the bed where his Satchmo look-alike soft toy was. He grabbed it and clutched it tight in his hands before feeling ready to leave the room.  
Neal could smell coffee from downstairs so he wasn’t the only one awake. He walked quietly down the stairs and as he walked into the living room he could hear voices from the kitchen.  
He couldn’t make out all of the words but he could hear them mention June and something about trusting her, he was planning on sneaking closer so that he could hear better but Satchmo had other plans. The dog emitted a bark before running towards the boy, almost knocking him over in his attempt to lick the boy’s face.  
Seconds after Satchmo’s greeting, Elizabeth and Peter emerged from the kitchen, smiling and greeting him as well. Elizabeth grabbed some bowls while Peter got the cereals and glasses.  
Yet again Neal was confused, they waited for him before eating breakfast? He was used to breakfast being served at a specific time and if he wasn’t at the table in time he had to go without food.  
Neal had to stop himself from tearing up, just so the adults wouldn’t think that he was upset or that there was something wrong with him.  
There was nothing wrong with Neal, no it was the complete opposite. He was filled with an unfamiliar, warm feeling that he couldn’t really explain, but he liked it.  
Neal climbed on the chair, placing his toy on the empty chair next to him, before grabbing the cereal box and started to pour. Neal was surprised when an unfamiliar sound was heard, caused by something other than cereal hitting the bowl.  
Neal put the box down before he looked in his bowl, gasping when he saw the golden star on top of the cereals.  
He grabbed it and held it up before looking at the adults.  
“It’s a sheriff star!”

When Neal saw the sheriff star he lit up like a christmas tree. It was like he had never gotten a toy from a cereal box before, and based on how Neal’s father had deprived him of toys Peter guessed that was the case.  
Neal held it up in the air, while his blue eyes looked at it in total admiration. Both Peter and Elizabeth played along and looked at the star as if it was a piece of gold.  
“Wow. You’re really lucky, buddy”  
Peter said and Neal looked at him, the smile on his face wider than ever before.  
“Can I keep it?”  
“Of course, sweetie”  
El answered and Neal thanked them a thousand times before putting it on his t-shirt, looking at the adults proudly as if he just became a real sheriff.  
“Peter, Peter, Peter”  
Neal chanted, practically bouncing from excitement. It was a foreign but very welcome sight to see the boy so happy and careless, just like a child should be.  
“Now we’re both lawmen. We can solve crimes together!”  
Peter chuckled and nodded.  
“I’d love to have you as a partner”  
He answered and Neal squealed from excitement before being reminded to eat his cereals.

After breakfast Neal started to play with Satchmo,having a tug of war with one of Satchmo’s toys.  
The dog was a lot stronger than the boy and it was obvious that Satchmo was holding back.  
Neal giggled as Satchmo pretended to lose his grip so that Neal could win, they started the game again when Neal suddenly saw Elizabeth putting a stack of papers and a binder in her bag. Neal let go of the toy as he looked at the adults. He realized that Peter was wearing that boring, old suit he had worn the days that he was at the office.  
They were both obviously getting ready for work but Neal didn’t have anywhere to go, would they leave him here alone?  
Neal walked over to the table and grabbed his toy Satchmo and watched the adults.  
“Are you going to work?”  
He asked, despite already knowing the answer. Like expected they both answered yes and Neal clutched his toy close to his chest. He had been home alone many times before and he had lived on the streets alone after all, but still he felt scared of them leaving him all alone.  
“Can I come with you?”  
“I’m sorry, honey. I have a big event coming up and Peter has a big case right now”  
Neal nodded, pushing away the fear in order to sound confident.  
“It’s okay. I can be home and play with Sacchmo”  
"You're too young to be alone, bud"  
Peter said and Neal frowned at him, he may be young but he knew how to take care of himself.  
Neal wasn't an ordinary six year old, he didn't need a babysitter and he opened his mouth to point this out but didn't get his chance since Peter continued.  
"El called June this morning, she's willing to look after you for today"  
So that's why they had talked about June and trusting her. Neal closed his mouth again, the only reason he was going to protest was because he was even more scared of being left with a stranger than being left alone. He liked June and he really wanted to see her again.

Peter hadn’t been too comfortable leaving the child at June’s house for the day, he had a hard time trusting her. The woman hid the kid from the FBI and Peter didn’t doubt that if Neal asked, June would help him run.  
He just hoped that Neal remembered the deal and wouldn’t get any ideas.  
The door opened, just seconds after they knocked, and they were met by June who immediately embraced the boy. Peter didn’t know how the two knew each other, but it was clear that June cared about the kid. She was like a proud, protective grandmother around him.  
“Look what I got”  
Neal said and showed the sheriff star that was still attached to his t-shirt.  
“Oh dear, I better watch myself so you won’t arrest me”  
Neal giggled at her words before pushing past her.  
“I’m gonna show Bugsy”  
He said before disappearing and June looked at Peter.  
“Don’t worry, agent, the boy will be fine”  
“You better hand him back in one piece or you will actually be arrested”  
Peter threatened before turning around and walking back to his car, hoping that the boy was indeed going to be fine.

When Peter returned later that afternoon he was afraid that the boy and June had both escaped, but instead he was shown inside where Neal and June was playing a simplified version of poker.  
Neal turned around when he heard footsteps and smiled when he saw that it was Peter.  
“Peter! June’s teaching me how to win poker”  
He said before clearly cheating, so apparently June wasn’t teaching him how to win honestly. He didn’t point it out though.  
“That’s great, bud”  
He said before ruffling the boy’s hair. Peter patiently waited for the game to finish before telling Neal that it was time to go home, something that made the boy very sad.  
“Don’t be upset, Neal. You can come visit me anytime”  
Neal’s frown was replaced with a smile and he looked up at Peter, giving him the puppy eyes.  
“Can I come back?”  
Even if Peter still didn’t trust June, he couldn’t possibly say no to the boy.  
“Sure”  
Neal gave him a quick hug before saying goodbye to June.

Neal was talking non-stop from the backseat, about everything he had done today. June had given him cookies, which would explain his energy, and told him stories about someone named Byron.  
Even if Neal’s babbling was giving him a headache, it was nice to see Neal act like a normal child, for once not believing that the adults around him was going to hurt him or feeling the need to hold back on his personality. Although Peter would’ve preferred if Neal would act like a normal child without a sugar rush.  
Neal was still talking as they walked through the front door and Peter couldn’t help but sigh of relief when the kid decided to go and talk Satchmo’s ears off instead.  
Elizabeth came down the stairs and grinned at him.  
“What?”  
“You look like an exhausted father”  
She said while putting her arms around him and Peter smiled at her words. Even if he felt more tired than usual with the energetic child around, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

After eating dinner Neal was told to sit by the table and Elizabeth placed some papers in front of him. Neal looked at them and felt anxious over all the text, was he supposed to read this? He looked at the few pictures but he still couldn’t understand what it was.  
“What’s this?”  
He asked, frowning at the papers. Elizabeth placed a pen and an eraser next to the papers before answering.  
“It’s a test from school, so they will know where to place you”  
“School?”  
Neal had never been to school before, his foster parents left him home alone instead of sending him to kindergarten and by the time he was supposed to start first grade he was living on the streets.  
“Yes, we have to enroll you at school, sweetie”  
Neal shook his head. He did not like the idea of going to school at all.  
“I don’t wanna go to school”  
“I’m sorry, but it’s the law. You might feel nervous now but I promise you will love it, you will meet new friends and you will learn lots of new things”  
Elizabeth tried to make it sound fun but Neal wasn’t easily convinced.  
“Just answer the questions you can okay?”  
She said before disappearing into the kitchen to do the dishes. Neal sighed and looked down at the paper. He recognized the word ‘name’ and he could write his name in squiggly letters but after that he was stuck. He recognized some of the words from his lessons with Mozzie but not enough to understand.

When Elizabeth returned to the table, Neal was staring at the papers and as she got closer she saw that he hadn’t written anything, just his own name.  
She was surprised, Neal appeared to be a clever boy and she had expected him to at least answer some of the questions.  
“Do you need help?”  
She asked and the boy answered with a shrug. She read the first assignment, it was a pretty simple one.  
“You’re just supposed to write a short presentation of yourself like what your name is, how old you are, what’s your favourite animal and so on”  
The boy didn’t even try to write, he didn’t even pick up his pen. Elizabeth sighed.  
“Okay how about number 2, can you read that to me?”  
Number two was a short text containing five easy, misspelled words that Neal was supposed to find and spell correctly.  
Yet again, the boy didn’t even move. Elizabeth sighed again and sat down next to him.  
“I know you don’t want to go to school Neal but you have to, so don’t you think it would be a good idea to just get this test done so that you could go play?”  
She said, assuming that the boy was still sulking over having to go to school, but as he lifted his head, his lip was wobbling. Elizabeth barely had the time to react before the tears started to fall.  
“I’m sorry”  
Neal said, looking down at the test and then at Elizabeth again.  
“I don’t understand it. I can’t read”  
Neal said in between his sobs and Elizabeth immediately grabbed him and put him on her lap, stroking the top of his head. She felt horrible for forcing the boy to do the test and mistaken his struggles for him being grumpy. The boy had been living with terrible foster parents and alone on the street, she should have considered the possibility that the boy never received any education at all.  
She rocked the sobbing child, trying to calm him down. The boy seemed ashamed over the fact and she realized why he despised books, he had been too ashamed to tell them he couldn’t read.  
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay”

When Peter returned from his walk with Satchmo he found his wife cradling Neal as the boy hiccupped and sniffled. It seemed like the child had been crying and he gave his wife a questioning look, receving a shake of her head meaning she would tell him later.  
The dog walked over to the table, whimpering and placing his head next to Neal on Elizabeth’s lap. The boy reached out and petted the dog, who whimpered again, clearly upset over the fact that the child was upset.  
When Neal finally calmed down, he was placed on the sofa, wrapped around a blanket and Satchmo by his feet.  
Once Elizabeth was sure Neal was watching the cartoons, she gave Peter some papers.  
“I talked to the school today and I got this test for Neal, to check where we should place him”  
Peter looked at the empty papers and nodded, not sure where this was leading.  
“Turns out, Neal can’t read”  
Oh. That explained a lot and just like Elizabeth, Peter felt stupid for not considering that possibility before.  
“So what does this mean?”  
He asked and Elizabeth shrugged.  
“I don’t know, I’m going to talk to the school and find the best solution”  
Peter nodded. It would’ve been good for Neal to be placed with children his own age, but they knew more than him so there was a chance that Neal would end up in kindergarten with the younger kids. Before Peter could answer Elizabeth, his phone started to ring. The name Diana showed up on the display.  
“I have to take this”  
Elizabeth nodded and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Neal and watching the TV.  
Peter walked outside, to get some privacy.  
“Diana, what’s going on?”  
“Hey boss. I have some bad news”  
“What happened?”  
He could hear Diana take a deep breath, meaning whatever it was, it was bad. If Diana needed to prepare herself to deliver the news, it was bad, real bad.  
“Keller escaped”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if these kind of tests exist in real life, I just thought it would be a good way to bring up both school and the reading issue.  
> Also since the American school system is different from the Swedish, I don't really know how advanced kindergarten and first grade are but hopefully the assigments were suited for a first grader.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos. Since no one seems to think that the quality of the chapters is declining (except me) and since the story is fun to write, I will use all my ideas and make it longer :)

CHAPTER 18

Elizabeth got up from the couch as soon as she saw her husband walk back in, she could immediately see that something was wrong.  
“Peter, what’s going on?”  
She asked in a hushed voice so that Neal wouldn’t hear them. Her husband looked both worried and pissed off.  
“Keller escaped”  
Peter answered, he too in a hushed voice. Elizabeth felt her heart sink to her stomach and she put her arms around herself, in a comforting gesture.  
She looked back at the boy, who was still completely engrossed with the cartoons and didn’t notice the adults’ distress.  
Elizabeth didn’t know much about Keller except that he was the one that had kidnapped Neal and what would stop him from coming after the child again?  
“What if he comes for Neal?”  
She asked, her voice breaking slightly. Peter responded by pulling her into his arms, and running a comforting hand along her back.  
“He won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”  
Peter gave her a kiss before taking a step back.  
“I have to go to the bureau, but don’t worry Jones will be here within minutes and I arranged for an agent to sit outside the house. Your and Neal’s safety is my first priority”  
He gave her another kiss before disappearing to get his gun and badge upstairs and it wasn’t until he came downstairs that the boy noticed that something was going on.  
He gave the adults a worried look, as if he could sense that something was wrong.  
“I have to go to work, bud”  
Peter said, keeping his voice calm as to not worry the boy even more.  
“Are you going to catch a bad guy, Peter?”  
“Yeah, I am”  
Neal smiled at him and wished him good luck before the agent left the house.  
As soon as he left, Elizabeth felt the fear grow and she felt paranoid. It wasn’t unusual for her husband to rush to the bureau to run after some criminal, but this time the criminal could go after and hurt the child in front of her.  
That thought turned her protective mother instincts to a max and she wanted to wrap the boy up in her arms and never let him go, but she couldn’t do that.  
Elizabeth didn’t want to worry the boy so she had to act normal.  
“Do you want some ice cream, Neal?”  
The boy nodded and Elizabeth got two bowls of ice cream and sat down next to the boy, trying to watch the cartoons.

Peter returned home in the middle of the night, after being told for the 100th time that there was nothing he could do and he should just go home.  
Keller was gone, he had disappeared into thin air and no one had the slightest clue about where the man was. No one even knew how he had managed to escape; the guards were all telling different stories which caused Peter to believe that some guards had been bribed or blackmailed into helping Keller. Of course there were no evidence to support this theory and the criminal was still out there somewhere. He was even more scared for his family now, before he at least believed that Keller would be caught but now he didn’t even have that hope.  
He walked inside and saw that the TV was still on. Elizabeth was sitting up with Neal’s head in her lap, both of them fast asleep. Jones however was awake and alert, taking his security guard job seriously.  
“She didn’t want to go to sleep before you came back”  
Jones informed while getting up, stretching and yawning.  
“Thanks, Jones. You can come in later tomorrow”  
“Thanks Peter, I appreciate it.”  
With those words Jones left the house and Peter turned off the TV and sighed as he turned towards his wife.  
How was he supposed to tell her that they weren’t even close to finding Keller?  
Elizabeth would be worried sick and she would without a doubt go all mother hen on Neal and she would not want to let the child out of her sight for even a second.  
He reached out and gently shook her awake, she looked around in confusion before her eyes landed on him.  
“Did you catch him?”  
She whispered, the fear evident in her voice.  
“I’m sorry, hun. There’s no trace of him”  
Peter reached down and kissed the top of her head.  
“But don’t worry there’ll be a guard on the house 24/7. I’m not letting anything happen to Neal or you”  
Elizabeth finally nodded, seemingly calmed by the fact that they had a guard outside. Peter lifted Neal into his arms and with Elizabeth in tow, he walked up the stairs.  
In his sleep Neal grabbed a fistful of Peter’s t-shirt and the action was just too cute to handle. The fact that there was a man out there who potentially wanted to hurt this warm, adorable child currently snuggled up in his arms made his blood boil. Peter swore that he was going to do everything in his power to keep the boy safe.  
When Neal had been tucked into the bed, Peter called for Satchmo who, on his own accord, placed himself on the floor next to the bed, ready to guard the boy during the night.

Neal was confused, last night Elizabeth had let him watch cartoons until he fell asleep even if he knew that it was way too late for him to be up, and Jones came by claiming that he was feeling lonely but wasn’t needed at work.   
When he came down for breakfast both of the adults looked tired and there was a tension in the room, but when he asked what was wrong he just got fake smiles and reassurances that everything was fine.  
Neal could see right through their lies but he kept quiet, knowing from experience that adults didn’t like it when you called them out on their lies.  
Neal started to eat his cereals but quickly realized that Peter had been reading the same page of the sports segment for minutes now and Elizabeth had been stirring her coffee since he came downstairs without taking a single sip.  
He knew something was wrong and he got scared, a million reasons for their odd behaviour showed up in his head. Did someone die? Was someone going to die? Did Peter get fired? Did they suddenly realize that they wanted nothing to do with him and that the whole becoming foster parents thing was a huge mistake?  
His stomach started to hurt and his hunger disappeared so he put down his spoon and pushed the bowl away from him.  
“Neal, you should eat up”  
Elizabeth remarked, her voice tired and monotone, but Neal pushed the bowl further away.  
“Not hungry”  
He answered before getting up and walking over to Satchmo, sitting down on the floor next to the resting dog.  
He could hear the adults whispering to each other but no one told him to go back and eat up, maybe they did regret taking him in. The previous meals Elizabeth had always been coaxing him to eat all of his food and would not let him leave the table before he was done, but now she didn’t seem to care anymore.  
Neal hugged the dog, surprised at how sad he felt even if he expected the Burkes to get tired of him sooner or later.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Elizabeth told Neal to get ready to leave. This was it, he thought.  
Elizabeth was going to drop him off at the social worker’s office and walk away.  
Something about that thought made Neal both angry and sad, normally he would be the one to leave on his own conditions but now they were leaving him, throwing him away like he was nothing but trash. Being rejected hurt so much worse than running away.  
Neal just couldn’t accept that, he was going to run away on his own and he was going to find Mozzie and he was going to be the one who ended it, then he wouldn’t be the one being rejected.  
It was clear that the adults were very tired and both of them looked like they were having headaches and if it was one thing a tired adult with a headache didn’t want to deal with it was a child throwing a tantrum. From experience he knew that if he was too annoying adults would get too tired and just leave him behind and then he would have his chance to escape.  
So when Elizabeth told him to grab his jacket he ignored her, just to agitate her and he waited until she raised her voice a bit, strictly ordering him to grab his jacket. The boy got up, clenching his fists and stomped his foot, letting the adults know exactly what was coming.  
“I don’t want to go!”  
He yelled and he could see both of the adults visibly taken aback by his behavior. Neal had never thrown a tantrum before, he hadn’t even been rude or raised his voice at them.  
“Neal, change your attitude and grab your jacket”  
Peter ordered, his face clearly relaying the message that he was in no mood to argue.  
Neal ignored the man and instead grabbed one of Satchmo’s toys and threw it at the adults, purposely not hitting any of them.  
The man went from Peter to agent Burke in a second and he walked towards Neal with that stern face that probably caused all the criminals to pee their pants.  
This was not part of the plan, they were supposed to get tired of him and leave him behind but now Peter looked like he wanted to hit him.  
Neal whimpered and tried to run away from Peter but his strong arms grabbed him and lifted him off the ground.  
“Lemme go!”  
Neal yelled, his small fists hitting Peter's chest but the man clenched his jaw and walked out of the house while Elizabeth, who looked like she wanted to bang her head against a wall, grabbed Neal’s jacket.  
“Help! They’re kidnapping me!”  
Neal yelled but sadly no neighbours were around to hear it. Neal tried to break free but Peter held on tight. This was not how it was supposed to go.  
It hurt even more to know that they were so tired of him that they were willing to drag the child kicking and screaming back to the social worker.  
Neal put up a fight in the car seat and Peter had to hold him down while Elizabeth buckled him up.  
The door was closed behind him and he could see the adults talking to each other, but he couldn’t hear them. Then Peter disappeared to his car, to go to work, while Elizabeth sat down in the driver’s seat.  
Neal tried to get out of his seat but he couldn’t unbuckle it, so instead he continued screaming and kicking the seat in front of him.  
Elizabeth looked like she wanted to yell at him or maybe even throw him out of the car, but she did none of these things instead just ignoring the child.  
“I hate you!”  
Neal yelled and after the words left his mouth, it hurt. He didn’t mean it.  
He didn’t hate Peter and Elizabeth, he was just very sad and very disappointed in them. He had actually started to believe that maybe staying with Burkes wouldn’t be that bad.  
He could see the pain in Elizabeth’s eyes as she looked back at him in the rearview mirror.  
Neal stopped his kicking and yelling but he couldn’t stop the crying. Even if he had faked the temper tantrum for his failed plan, he was feeling so many feelings at once and he didn’t know how to deal with them so he just cried.

When the car finally stopped, Neal’s sobbing had been reduced to hiccups and the occasional sniffling. Elizabeth took a deep sigh and he could hear her counting to ten under her breath before getting out of the car and opening his door.  
Elizabeth unbuckled his car seat before firmly grabbing his hand to prevent him from running away.  
Neal kept on sniffling, regretting that he hadn’t even brought his Satchmo toy with him.  
The sound of playing children reached his ears and when he looked up, he saw that they weren’t at the social worker’s office or even another foster home.  
Instead he saw a big white building with a huge playground next to it and a fence surrounding the lot.  
The playing children looked way too happy to be foster children. Elizabeth opened a gate and led him inside and walked over to a middle aged woman in colourful clothes.  
“I was going to see Mrs. Fisher”  
Elizabeth told the woman and was given directions to a classroom. Wait, a classroom?  
There was only one place you had a classroom, in school.  
Elizabeth wasn’t throwing him away, she was taking him to look at the school.  
Neal felt really bad and he pulled at Elizabeth’s pant leg to get her attention, he needed to apologize.  
“Why don’t you go and play with the other children?”  
She said, not even waiting for an answer before adding  
“Play nice and stay close to the adults”  
With those words Elizabeth disappeared into the building and Neal was left alone.

Elizabeth hadn’t been planning on leaving Neal outside with the other children, she hadn’t even planned to let him out of her sight, but she was so tired and she needed a break from him. No one could’ve expected the child’s temper tantrum and since Elizabeth and Peter hadn’t been able to catch more than a few hours of sleep, and with the dark cloud named Keller hanging over their heads, it had really come at the worst possible time.  
Despite her worries about Keller getting Neal she felt safe leaving the child on the playground, knowing that there were several adults watching.  
She walked into the classroom and sat down, talking to Mrs. Fisher, the first grade teacher.  
Elizabeth gladly accepted the cup of coffee before revealing that Neal could not read yet.  
Finally they decided that Neal, who otherwise seemed intelligent, would have no problem sticking with his age group as long as he got some tutoring so that he could catch up on the reading and writing part.  
Elizabeth felt satisfied walking out of the building, relieved that Neal could start school and that they could soon fall into a normal everyday routine.  
It was no surprise that Neal was surrounded by kids out on the playground, he appeared to be quite the charmer even with other kids.  
“Neal”  
She called for him and Neal said goodbye to the kids before running to her side like an obedient dog.  
All signs of the temper tantrum were gone and instead the boy was smiling.  
He didn’t put up a fight getting strapped in and when Elizabeth looked back at the child, he was still smiling, his tiny hands clutching a white flower.  
“Where did you get the flower?”  
Elizabeth asked, it was just a simple flower but Neal looked at it as if it was a piece of gold.  
Neal looked up at her, and he looked like the human version of sunshine.  
“Kate”  
He answered with a sweet voice.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I was really struggling with this chapter but hopefully you will like it :)  
> You know the drill, all mistakes are still mine :)

Elizabeth tried to pry out any details about Kate but Neal remained silent and just smiled at her. It was obvious that Neal had a crush on this Kate, perhaps his very first crush and Elizabeth couldn’t stop smiling at that adorable thought.  
When they stopped at a red light, Elizabeth could hear Neal shuffling a bit before finally breaking his silence.  
“’Lizbeth?”  
He said, struggling to pronounce her name. He waited until she looked at him in the rearview mirror before he managed to wipe the smile off her face.  
“Why was there a man watching the house?”  
Elizabeth frowned, the boy hadn’t looked out the window yesterday and the only time he had been outside he had been in the midst of throwing a temper tantrum, had he still managed to spot the FBI agent guarding their house?  
It actually didn’t surprise her, the kid seemed pretty observant after all.  
She sighed, trying to find any explanation for the man’s presence that the boy would actually believe, but she came up short.  
So instead of driving home, she took a turn for the bureau. Maybe Peter would have a better lie to tell the boy, or if they were forced to tell Neal the truth she didn’t want to do it alone.

Neal was puzzled, Elizabeth didn’t answer his question and when he brought it up again, she told him to just hold on.  
Next thing he knew they were parked outside the bureau, what was going on?  
Before getting out of the car, he placed his flower on the seat next to him so it wouldn’t break or get lost while he was away.  
Elizabeth grabbed his hand and together they walked into the building, riding the elevator up to the 21st floor.  
Peter was standing by Jones’ desk, his back turned towards them, and whatever Jones was telling him it didn’t seem like good news. Neal could read body language enough to see that the man was tense and also very tired. He felt guilty about that, he hadn’t exactly made it easier for the exhausted adults.  
Neal broke free from Elizabeth’s grip and ran towards the agent and threw his arms around his legs and hugged them tightly. Neal looked up at Peter and flashed his most adorable smile at him.  
“Hi Peter!”  
The agent couldn’t hold back his smile and he immediately seemed slightly more relaxed.  
“Hi Neal”  
He answered before ruffling the boy’s dark curls.  
“What are you doing here?”  
Neal shrugged while Elizabeth caught up to them and gave Peter a serious look.  
“I need to talk to you”

Neal had been confined to Peter’s office while the adults were standing outside, speaking to each other in hushed voices. Neal plopped down on Peter’s chair, and since he had nothing else to do he started to spin around.  
Neal had always wanted to ride a carousel but he had never been allowed to go, but he imagined that this is what it felt like except better.  
His spinning was suddenly interrupted by someone placing a hand on the back of the chair.  
Neal giggled as the world around him was still spinning, but when he could finally focus on the adults’ faces, his giggles died down. They looked serious and uncomfortable as if they really didn’t want to tell Neal what was going on.  
They seemed to be struggling with words, which caused Neal to become anxious. Elizabeth was the first one to speak.  
“We’ve been trying to keep this from you because we didn’t want you to worry”  
Neal almost scoffed at her words, they didn’t want him to worry? He had done nothing else since they started acting weird.  
“Keller escaped from prison”  
Elizabeth continued while Peter crouched down in front on the boy, forcing eye contact.  
“That’s why there’s a guard outside the house. Keller’s not going to get you okay?”  
Neal nodded, he wanted to believe that they could keep him safe from Keller but at the same time he feared the man with all his might. He tried to blink away his tears so that no one would notice them, but apparently he didn’t succeed because Peter stood up and then lifted the boy off the chair and gave him a comforting hug.  
Neal threw his arms around Peter’s neck and buried his head in his shoulder while trying to collect himself. Then he suddenly remembered the event that took place this morning and he lifted his head again to look at the adults.  
“I’m sorry about before”  
“It’s okay, sweetie”  
Elizabeth answered, giving him a sweet smile.  
“Why were you so angry, bud?”  
“I was angry and scared. You were acting weird and I thought-“  
Neal interrupted himself and looked down, biting his lip. He wasn’t sure if he should tell them his fear, what if they were actually thinking of it or what if they would laugh at him?  
“You thought what?”  
Peter’s voice was soft and kind and it made Neal’s doubts go away. They wouldn’t laugh at his fear, right?  
“I thought you got tired of me. I thought you were gonna give me back”  
He admitted before tensing as he waited for laughter but it never came, instead Peter hugged him closer to his chest while Elizabeth rubbed her hand on his back.  
She gently grabbed Neal’s chin and forced him to look up at her.  
“Listen to me Neal. We are never, NEVER giving you up, alright?”  
Neal nodded before he once again hid his face in Peter’s shoulder, this time to hide his tears.

None of them wanted to tell Neal about Keller, it should be an adult thing that only they had to deal with, but Neal wasn’t a normal child. You couldn’t shut him out from this without him realizing that something was wrong and they wanted Neal to trust them, how could they expect him to do that if the kid knew they were lying to him?  
Besides eventually they realized that Neal would probably find a way to figure it out anyway, so after a lengthy discussion they both decided that they had no other choice.  
The boy handled the news pretty well, he tried to seem calmed by the FBI’s protection but the fear was evident in his eyes.  
She thought it was bad enough that the boy was scared of Keller but then he revealed the reason behind his tantrum and her heart broke.  
Neal honestly thought that they were acting weird because they decided to return the child. They had been so tired and so occupied with Keller that they hadn’t even considered how their behaviour affected Neal.  
Elizabeth hated herself for not saying ‘We’re going to look at the school’ or something like that so that Neal knew that she wasn’t driving him to the social worker.  
It was a big reminder of how damaged and insecure this child really was, it seemed like he always expected the worst and that he always assumed that everything that was wrong was because of him.  
Elizabeth made a vow to do her best to prevent Neal from ever feeling like that again.

__________________________________________________________________________________

As Peter left the bureau he was frustrated, there were still not even a sighting of Keller anywhere, even if both the FBI and the NYPD was involved. Peter returned home and felt some of his worries disappear when he saw that there was still an agent watching the house and nothing seemed to have happened.  
This was confirmed when he walked inside and he was met by a delicious smell from the kitchen and the sound of cartoons from the TV.  
Neal was snuggled up in the couch, clutching a flower tightly in his hands. Peter frowned, normally the boy would be clutching a toy, not a flower.  
He walked into the kitchen and greeted his wife.  
“So what’s up with the flower?”  
“Kate gave it to him”  
“Who?”  
Peter wracked his brain trying to remember who this Kate was but he came up short.  
“A girl at school. He wouldn’t tell me about her, but I think he has a crush on her”  
Elizabeth told him, smiling lovingly. Peter chuckled, he could clearly remember his first crush when he was in Neal’s age.  
He returned to the kid and sat down next to him, looking at the flower.   
“I heard you might have a crush on Kate”  
He said causing the boy to blush and look down before he shook his head.  
“So what’s she like?”  
The boy remained silent. He could remember his own father coaxing him to talk about his crush and he had been so embarrassed but at the same time he had really wanted to talk about the girl.  
“You can tell me, I won’t tell El. It will be a secret between us men”  
Neal giggled at that and it seemed to work because he looked up again.  
“Kate is tall, really super tall”  
He answered sounding amazed by the girl’s height. It wasn’t hard to be taller than Neal, he was pretty short for his age so most of his classmates would be taller than him.  
“Taller than me?”  
Neal giggled again and shook his head.  
“She has brown hair like me and blue eyes like me and she’s really nice”  
It seemed like Neal really liked this Kate. Just as Neal was about to talk about her more, Elizabeth showed up to tell them that dinner was ready. Neal immediately put his hands over his mouth while giggling, because that was not obvious at all.  
“What are you boys up to?”  
She asked but Neal just responded by giggling again before getting up and running over to the table.

Neal eventually forgot about Keller being free, he got distracted by drawing, playing with Satchmo and watching a movie with Peter and Elizabeth. It wasn’t until Keller visited him in his dreams that he remembered that the criminal was on the run and what Keller had done to him. Keller wasn’t alone, his father was there too. They were both laughing and taking turns hitting Neal. Then his mother showed up and he thought he was safe until she handed him a bottle of pills and told him to eat them all so that they could be together.  
Neal closed his eyes and screamed, hoping that it would scare them away. The laughter died down and was replaced by whimpering and whispering.  
He opened his eyes and instead of seeing Keller or his parents he saw Peter’s face.  
A hand touched his head and he flinched and looked up, relaxing as he saw that it was just Elizabeth. He was placed on her lap with Peter kneeling in front of them and Satchmo whimpering next to the man.  
They tried their best to calm the child down but it didn’t work, Neal didn’t want to go back to his dreams.  
Eventually they gave up and he was allowed to sleep in their bed. He had never been allowed to sleep in any adult bed before, not even when he had the worst nightmares. He was always told to suck it up and go back to his own bed.  
Lying there between the adults with Satchmo on the floor and the FBI agent outside, Neal had never felt safer. Keller didn’t scare him now and he could easily fall asleep, this time with a smile on his face.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

A couple of days passed and still no sign of Keller. In one way it calmed them down, maybe Keller wasn’t coming for Neal after all, but they still kept their guard outside the house in case Keller was waiting for them to think that it was over.  
Neal had been a regular guest in the Burke’s bed, every time he slept in his own bed he had horrible nightmares and they only seemed to get worse.  
Peter hadn’t been too happy about Neal spending every night in their bed since the boy moved around a lot, and it was not a pleasant experience to wake up at 4 AM because tiny feet were kicking his stomach.  
Elizabeth had assured him that it wouldn’t be permanent, only until Keller got caught or Neal’s nightmares calmed down.  
Problem was that could take weeks or even months. Worst case scenario, it would take years.  
Hopefully Elizabeth would grow tired of it too and sooner or later the kid would have to return to his own bed.  
As if the Keller problem wasn’t bad enough, the dreaded day soon arrived. The day that marked one week since Neal arrived to their home.  
Peter spent the entire day being scared, tensing every time Neal was even in the same room as him. He just waited for Neal to tell him that he wanted to leave and then Peter would have to admit that he lied and that there was no deal.  
Then the night arrived and the kid hadn’t as much as mentioned their deal and it seemed like the boy had simply forgot about it. That should be a good sign right?  
That Neal actually liked it here and didn’t think about running away anymore.

It was Sunday afternoon, Peter had disappeared to the bureau since the NYPD had received a phone call about someone witnessing Keller and Peter wanted to be there in case the tip was legit.  
Elizabeth was reading a book on the couch while Neal was placed on the floor, lying on his stomach, trying to read a book while simultaneously petting Satchmo.  
Elizabeth and Neal had been spending a lot of time going through the books and Neal had slowly started to learn some new words.  
The phone rang and Elizabeth picked up. Both the boy and the dog stopped what they were doing and looked up at Elizabeth when her happy tone turned into a worried one.  
Elizabeth glanced at them before she left the room.  
Neal felt worried, the phone call sounded serious. What if something happened to Peter?  
He desperately wanted to follow her and eavesdrop but he knew Elizabeth would be angry with him if he did so.  
Suddenly there was a knock on the back door and Neal frowned.  
When people visited they used the front door, not the back door.  
Neal felt conflicted, should he open the door or should he go get Elizabeth?  
He was leaning towards the latter until a sudden thought hit him, what if it was Mozzie. The man would most likely not use the front door like normal people.  
Neal flew up and ran towards the door until another thought hit him, what if it was Keller?  
“Sacchmo”  
The dog got up and walked to the door with him. With Satchmo by his side, he felt safer and he slowly pushed back the curtain that was placed in front of the window, and saw a friendly face looking back at him.  
He relaxed, it wasn’t Mozzie but it wasn’t Keller either.  
Neal opened the door while Satchmo was fast to greet the visitor.  
“Hi Kate!”  
“Hi Neal”  
Her voice was just as wonderful as he remembered. Kate happily greeted the dog before her heavenly blue eyes looked at him.  
“Do you want to come out and play?”  
Neal nodded eagerly before remembering that he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without permission.  
“I just have to ask ‘Lizbeth first. Wait here!”  
He said before running off to find Elizabeth, leaving Kate alone with Satchmo.

Elizabeth was pacing in the adults’ bedroom. She sounded really worried and Neal stopped outside to listen.  
“I don’t understand. What happened to her?”  
It was about a ‘her’ so it wasn’t about Peter, that calmed Neal down.  
He knocked on the door before entering and Elizabeth almost seemed a little annoyed at him interrupting.  
“Hold on a second”  
She said before holding the phone against her chest.  
“I’m a little busy, Neal. What do you want?”  
She didn’t have her normal soft voice, instead she sounded annoyed and stressed.  
“Kate is here. Can I go out and play?”  
Elizabeth looked behind Neal as if contemplating if she should go down and meet Kate or not. Apparently her phone call was more important so she decided not to. Instead she sighed and looked at Neal.  
“You stay out back, don’t go anywhere else. If you even as much as think about going away from the house you’re in big trouble, Mister”  
She said in a stern voice that left no room for arguments, Neal nodded before leaving the room and returning down to Kate.

Elizabeth had planned on just spending her Sunday afternoon relaxing and reading her book, perhaps grab a glass of wine and maybe have a reading session with Neal.  
The hope for a calm, relaxing afternoon was crushed when the phone rang. On the other end was a doctor telling her that her mother was in the hospital.  
She left the room so that she wouldn’t worry Neal.  
The doctor wasn’t helpful at all, he just kept repeating the same things. His mother had collapsed in her parents’ home and she had arrived in with an ambulance just thirty minutes ago.  
They didn’t know if she was okay, she had hit her head and was still unconscious and they didn’t even know why she had collapsed.  
Then Neal interrupted her, asking if he could play with Kate. Elizabeth was too worried about her mother to actually meet the girl and allowed the kids to play outside, as long as they stayed right outside the house.  
She tried to get the doctor to give the phone to her father but was given the answer that he wasn’t nearby.   
Satchmo was barking downstairs and Elizabeth wished that the kids would tell the dog to stop, but they never did. They were most likely the ones causing the dog to bark.  
Her phone call was going nowhere, the doctor seemed very distant and he didn’t seem to know or even care about her mother’s condition.  
Finally Elizabeth gave up and said goodbye before rushing downstairs. 

Elizabeth grabbed both her own and Neal’s jacket, she was ready to drive to the hospital, despite it being hours away.  
She walked into the living room and sighed when she realized why Satchmo was barking like a maniac.  
They had closed the door and left him inside. If it was one thing Satchmo disliked, it was Neal playing without him.  
Satchmo barked again, jumping up against the door.  
“Calm down, Satch”  
She said before opening the door, ready to tell Neal to hurry inside, except when she opened the door their backyard was empty. There was not a child in sight.  
Elizabeth swore, of all the times Neal chose to disobey her, it was now.  
Now that she needed to leave, and now that Keller was still out there.  
The thought of Neal unsupervised out there, when Keller was still on the run, made her stomach turn.  
The front door opened and she ran towards it only to see her husband and not the boy.  
“Did you catch Keller?!”  
She yelled and her husband jumped before reading her face and realizing that something was wrong.  
“No, the tip was false. Hun, what happened?”  
Keller was still out there, and so was Neal. She started to back away while all the horrible images flashed in her head.  
How could she have been so careless?  
She knew that Neal was fully aware of what danger Keller imposed but at the same time he was six, he was just a child and children was impulsive.  
Elizabeth sat down on the couch while the tears started to fall.

Peter had really hoped that Keller would be arrested and that this whole thing would finally be over.  
They could finally relax, Neal could go back to his bed and they could return to a normal life.  
There was no Keller in the store, but there was plenty of security cameras.  
Peter, Jones and Diana looked through all the footage, every single frame from the time Keller was allegedly spotted until the time they arrived. They even looked several hours before Keller was supposed to have been there, but there was no Keller anywhere. There wasn’t even anyone looking like Keller.   
Peter was pissed and so was his team.  
They had wasted time and resources and given false hope. Peter could’ve been at home spending time with his family but no instead he was spending hours staring at a monitor.  
By the time he arrived home, he was ready to kick back, grab a beer and watch some sport, but as soon as he saw Elizabeth’s face he realized that something was very, very wrong.  
Elizabeth sat down on the couch and started to cry and Satchmo was whining.  
They were in distress, and Peter could quickly guess why. Neal wasn’t there.  
He walked over to the couch, sitting down next to his wife and put his arms around her.  
“What happened?”  
“Neal is gone”  
She sobbed while he stroke her hair, trying to comfort her.  
“It’s all my fault”  
“Tell me everything, El”

Elizabeth tried her best to explain everything, in between her sobs. She told Peter about the phone call and about how Kate showed up and how she had just let them walk outside without any supervision at all. It would have been so easy for her to just tell them to wait or to play inside or even just meet the girl. Oh god, she didn’t even know the girl.  
If something happened to the kids, she would have no way of contacting Kate’s parents.  
Peter waited until she had stopped crying before answering her.  
“Don’t blame yourself, hun. You were in emotional distress and beside Neal’s a smart kid. He should know better than to leave”  
Elizabeth wanted to believe him, she wanted to believe him so bad but she couldn’t.  
“Maybe they went to Kate’s house?”  
Peter suggested and Elizabeth ran her hand over her face, wiping away the tears.  
“I don’t even know her last name”  
She said and Peter’s small smile disappeared again. Then out of nowhere she remembered something.  
Elizabeth flew up from the couch and ran to her purse. She dug around in it until she found what she was looking for. A note where she had scribbled down Mrs. Fisher’s phone number.  
Surely Neal’s teacher would know of the girl or at least have some way of finding out.  
Elizabeth grabbed the phone and called.  
“Come on, pick up, pick up”  
She whispered and finally after the fifth signal, she picked up.  
“Hello, Mary Fisher speaking”  
“Hi, Mrs. Fisher. This is Elizabeth Burke”  
“Oh hello, Mrs. Burke. Everything okay?”  
Elizabeth took a deep breath before explaining that Neal was missing and that he had been playing with Kate that he met at school.  
Mrs. Fisher didn’t know of the girl but they had a register of every student. Elizabeth felt hopeful as she heard Mrs. Fisher writing on a computer in the background.  
After what felt like an eternity the sound of the keyboard stopped and she could hear Mrs. Fisher clear her throat.  
“Mrs. Burke”  
Elizabeth didn’t like her tone, it felt like she wouldn’t like what she was about to say next. Elizabeth was very right, Mrs. Fisher’s words caused her heart to stop.  
“I’m sorry but there is no Kate at our school”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments. Reading them really is the highlight of my day :)  
> All mistakes are mine :)

Neal knew it was a bad idea. He knew that he shouldn’t disobey Elizabeth’s orders, he knew Keller was out there and he knew he could be in danger.   
But Kate said she had something cool to show him and she promised that they would only be gone for five minutes, no one would even know that they had left.   
Neal knew he shouldn’t leave, he knew it but he agreed anyway. He grabbed Kate’s offered hand and he walked away with her.   
They didn’t make it far before a man grabbed him. Neal yelled to Kate that she should run and get help, but she didn’t move.  
The man didn’t care about her, he didn’t even look at her and Neal realized that there was a reason for that.   
The guilty look in her eyes confirmed his fear. She had lured him away, she had tricked him, she had betrayed him.   
He was thrown into the back of a van, his head hitting the floor and the pain caused tears to well up in his eyes. The pain made him wish Elizabeth was there to kiss it better, and that wish made him think about the Burkes. What was going to happen to him? Would he ever see them again?

The words echoed in her head, ‘there is no Kate at our school’.   
There was no Kate. All they had now was a girl who had lied about her name, she could be anyone. Both of them realized that this meant that Kate wasn’t an innocent girl that happened to get caught up in this, no she was most likely used to lure Neal away.   
This was without a doubt Keller’s doing and she didn’t even want to think about why the man wanted the kid so badly. No one even knew why he kidnapped the boy in the first place. Keller and his helper hadn’t revealed the motive behind the kidnapping and Neal hadn’t been willing to talk about the incident at all.  
It felt like Keller wanted something from the kidnapping, it felt as if Neal was just a pawn in Keller’s game and if that was the case then why?   
How did Neal end up in Keller’s path in the first place? Did he know something? Maybe he knew someone?  
Elizabeth wished that they would have known all of this, maybe that would’ve helped them find the missing kid but they didn’t know anything and they didn’t have any idea on how to locate Keller or what the man was planning to do with the boy.

Elizabeth watched as Peter paced the room while he talked to the NYPD on the phone. He had already called Jones and updated him on the situation and now he tried to get as much help from the police as possible.   
She didn’t miss when Peter said ‘My kid is missing’ and the words caused her to smile. Peter had been so reluctant to foster the boy in the beginning and now he referred to Neal as his kid.  
She just wished Neal could’ve heard it, just so that he would know how much he was loved.  
Peter hung up and it seemed like the NYPD would give them all the help they could possibly give.   
Peter suddenly handed her the phone and Elizabeth looked at it in confusion.   
“Check for updates on your mother”  
He said and Elizabeth felt horrible for completely forgetting about her mom. She had been so caught up with Neal’s disappearance that she hadn’t even given her mother a second thought.   
She called her dad, who picked up on the third ring.   
“Hey sweetheart. What a nice surprise”  
Her father didn’t sound upset and he genuinely sounded surprised over her phone call.  
“Dad, how is mom doing?”  
There was a silence, and she could hear hushed whispers before her father answered her, sounding confused.  
“She’s fine, why are you asking?”  
“I got a call from a doctor, they said mom collapsed and were in the hospital”  
“Elizabeth, honey. Your mom is at home, she’s alright. There must have been a mistake”  
She frowned at his words, that couldn’t be. The doctor had mentioned her mother’s name, he had even mentioned her correct date of birth. There was no way that this could’ve been a mistake.

Peter frowned when Elizabeth hung up the phone telling him that her mother was fine.   
Something about this didn’t feel right. Elizabeth had received a phone call, a serious one that assured that she would get emotional and stressed, and he had received a tip, a seemingly legit tip about Keller which assured that he would rush to work on his day off.   
Then Kate showed up when they both were occupied, it was as if she had waited to show up until both adults were busy. Maybe it sounded stupid, but his gut feeling was screaming that this wasn’t right.  
The odds that this whole thing was a coincidence, that both the tip and the phone call was fake and that Kate just happened to show up while Elizabeth was on the phone, was very low.  
It all seemed like an elaborate plan to get to Neal.  
That really left an unsettling feeling in Peter’s stomach. Keller was willing to go to great lengths just to get to Neal. Why did he want the boy so bad?

Neal’s head was pounding and he could feel the sticky, red substance slowly moving further down his face. He had hit his head really bad but no one had cared.   
He was really tired, he just wanted to sleep but he had heard somewhere that you shouldn’t fall asleep with a head injury.   
It was hard to stay awake though. The van was dark, it smelled really bad and his body wanted nothing else but to sleep through this hell.   
He found himself longing for Peter and Elizabeth, for their comforting words and their warm hugs. He longed for that safe feeling he got when he was sleeping in their bed.   
His tears started to fall and he wondered if they would ever find him. Maybe they wouldn’t look for him and just assume that he ran away.   
Even if running away was all he wanted in the beginning, now the mere thought of being alone again scared him.   
In the beginning all he wanted was to get away from the Burkes but now all he wanted was to get back to them.

The ride seemed to last forever but finally the van stopped and the door opened. Neal shied away from the bright light before the man grabbed him and literally threw him out of the van. Neal’s body hit the cement floor and the pain immediately flared up in his ribs.   
Kate hovered over him, looking worried but Neal didn’t want her worry. She had betrayed him, he was in this position because of her.   
He was lifted off the floor again, and the man carried him through the building, who looked like an abandoned warehouse.  
Neal didn’t dare to resist, his body already hurting too much to risk getting more hurt.   
“Long time no seen junior”  
Neal felt a chill sweep through his body as he heard the familiar voice and within seconds he could see its owner.  
Keller looked at him with a smug face and Neal felt nothing but hate for this man. He wished he was an adult so that he could fight Keller, but he wasn’t an adult so he had to settle for glaring daggers at the criminal.   
He was dumped on a chair, without restraints since the bad guys clearly had the upper take here and they could stop Neal from escaping before he had even left the chair.  
Keller walked up to him, leaning over him so that their faces were just inches apart. Neal could feel his warm, stinky breath on his face and he realized that hate wasn’t a strong enough word when it came to Keller.   
Without thinking, he punched the man right in the face, his small fist connecting with the big nose.   
“Son of a”  
Keller backed up, while running his hand under his nose checking for any signs of a nose bleed.  
“That wasn’t very nice, kiddo”  
Keller said in a mix of anger and amusement.   
“Especially not since I’ve been kind enough to get you a surprise gift”  
Neal didn’t know what kind of surprise Keller was talking about but he knew that he should expect the worst.   
“You’re lucky I’m nice enough to give it to you anyway”  
Neal scoffed at the man’s words. Neal was everything but lucky.  
A door opened behind him and he could hear footsteps approaching him. There was something about those footsteps that caused his heart to beat faster and a sudden fear came over him. He didn’t know why, but his instincts were warning him that danger was approaching.   
Neal slowly turned around and his blood froze when he saw the familiar man walking towards him. A man Neal hoped he would never see again.  
Suddenly Keller didn’t seem that bad, not now when his father had stepped into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately my father is in the hospital and it's not looking good. Right now it is unclear if he will survive.   
> As you could imagine this does not only take up a lot of my time but it also affects me mentally.   
> My point here is that it might take a while before the next update, depending on if my dad gets better or not.   
> I will not abandon this story, I will just need some time to deal with everything and some time to be with my family.   
> Thank you for understanding.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m finally back and despite everything I’ve been going through I managed to get this chapter together. I hope you’ll like it :)

Peter was staring blindly at the whiteboard, feeling more lost than ever.   
They had put together every single information they knew about Keller and tried to find any motivation for the kidnappings.   
A picture of Neal had been placed on the board with a big question mark next to it. No one could understand how he had ended up on Keller’s radar or why Keller even cared about the kid.  
Peter would’ve understood it if Neal was a kid with rich parents that could pay a large ransom, but Neal had been a street kid without anyone to give Keller anything.   
There had to be something that Keller wanted, but how could he get something out of a six year old?  
The more Peter thought of it, the more lost he became. Nothing made sense and it frustrated him. Every second spent trying to understand it all, was another second Neal spent with Keller.   
He didn’t even want to think about it. The kid, his kid, with that man.   
They could be anywhere by now, there was nothing stopping Keller from leaving New York and he probably had the contacts to find a way out of the country, despite all the warrants. 

He looked at his wife who was crying in his office, Diana trying her very best to comfort her.   
Elizabeth had refused to be left alone at home, even with the agent outside.   
Peter hadn’t been able to protest, not when he looked into those blue eyes filled with fear and sadness. She had even brought Satchmo who was placed by her feet. Even the dog had sensed that something was wrong and that it had to do with the absence of his young friend.  
He desperately wanted to be in there and comfort his wife and dog but he didn’t know how. There were no words that could make her feel better.   
The only way to make her feel better was to find the boy, and in order to do that he had to continue working, even if locating Keller felt like an impossible task.   
He forced himself to turn his back to them and instead walk down the stairs and over to Jones’ desk, where the man was just hanging up the phone.  
“Any luck?”  
Peter had told Jones to contact Neal’s teacher again to see if she knew what teachers had been outside with the children at the time of Neal’s visit.   
They had been looking for Keller for weeks and without any leads on the man their only hope right now was to identify “Kate” and hopefully find Keller through her.   
“I got a hold of a teacher named Mr. Summers, he was one of the teachers watching the children and he remembers Neal”  
Peter released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had fully expected them to hit another roadblock but for once things were going their way.   
“He lives nearby, he will be here in just a couple of minutes to talk to you”  
Peter nodded and hoped that the teacher could help them get one step closer to finding Neal.

 

Mr Summers was a middle aged man with a rapidly receding hairline and big, thick glasses perched upon his nose.   
“Mr Summers”  
Peter greeted and shook the man’s sweaty hand.   
The teacher followed him to the conference room where they sat down. Peter opened his   
notepad, ready to write down every single detail the man could provide.   
“So you remember Neal?”  
“Yes, I have an excellent memory”  
Normally Peter would’ve been annoyed at the man’s obvious bragging but now he couldn’t be anything but happy about the so called excellent memory.  
“Do you remember Neal receiving a flower from a girl?”  
The man nodded  
“Yes Mary Baker gave him a flower. It was pretty sweet.”  
Peter wrote down the name in his notepad and looked at it for a second. Was Mary Baker the girl’s real name or was it another fake name?   
Who was this little girl and how did she even get involved with Keller?  
Did she have parents somewhere that missed her?  
Or God forbid she was Keller’s daughter. Peter couldn’t even imagine what it was like being Keller’s child.   
“What grade is she in?”  
Peter asked and the man looked puzzled for a second before he seemed to understand.   
“Oh you think that Mary is-?”  
He interrupted himself and shook his head.   
“Agent. Mary is not a student, she’s a substitute teacher”  
At first Peter thought the man must’ve been mistaken, but then he heard Neal’s voice in his head.  
‘Kate is tall. Really super tall’  
Suddenly it dawned on him Kate wasn’t a child at all, she was an adult.  
“Agent Burke?”  
Peter didn’t realize that he had spaced out until the teacher called his name while looking at him with a worried face.  
“Are you okay?”  
Peter cleared his throat and nodded.   
“You seem close to Neal”  
The man deducted and tilted his head.   
“He’s my son”  
Peter answered without missing a single beat. The young boy had managed to weasel his way into Peter’s heart and it really did start to feel like Neal was his son. 

Peter looked through the glass walls with a fond smile.   
Elizabeth had managed to fall asleep in his office chair, with Satchmo curled up by her feet.   
He didn’t want to wake her up, she really needed the rest but he knew from experience that sleeping in a chair wasn’t all too comfortable and besides the other agents had practically forced him to give up for the day and return home.  
Mr Summers had, with the help of his great memory, managed to help create an excellent, very detailed sketch of Kate or Mary or whatever her name was.   
Unfortunately she wasn’t in the system so it looked like their luck had ran out for the day.   
Satchmo immediately started to wag his tail when Peter opened the door and he quietly greeted the dog before he carefully shook his wife’s shoulder.   
She looked confused for a second before she seemed to realize where she was and why.  
“How did it go with the teacher?”  
She asked, getting straight to the point.   
“I’ll update you at home”  
He said, receiving a nod from her. 

Elizabeth’s face showed a mixture of shock and uneasiness as he told her the new information about Kate.   
Peter understood her expression, there was just something about a child being lured away by an adult that was extremely uncomfortable.  
When they thought Kate was a child, they thought she was just an innocent girl that had been manipulated into helping Keller but now when they knew she was an adult, they didn’t look at her as innocent anymore.   
What kind of people were they dealing with here?  
What kind of sick people who kidnapped children and-  
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. A knock on the back door.   
Elizabeth and Peter shared a look before he got up from the couch and carefully walked over to the door.   
Kate had used the backdoor to avoid the agent watching the house, so who’s to say she wouldn’t do it again or any of Keller’s minions?  
He was glad that he still had his gun on him and he placed his hand on the holster as he discreetly pulled back the curtain and revealed a strange man standing outside.  
The man didn’t look dangerous but you could never be too sure, therefore Peter opened the door slightly, but just enough to be able to talk to the man.   
“Who are you and what do you want?”  
He asked, using his best ‘FBI voice’.  
“Well good day to you too, suit”  
The last word was spit out in disgust and Peter frowned at the man.   
“We need to have a private conversation”  
The man said before looking around in a paranoid fashion.  
“No”  
Peter simply said, there were no way he’d let a stranger into his house not with everything going on. He was not going to risk losing another family member.   
He was just about to slam the door shut when the man said something that managed to stop him.   
“It’s about Neal”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to thank you for all the kind words and support regarding my father.   
> Unfortunately just 12 hours after I posted the last chapter my dad passed away due to complications in the hospital. He was only 41 and everything has been very sudden.  
> It’s been a very hard time for me and my two older brothers but we have had an amazing support from family, friends and even amazing strangers on the internet.   
> Thank you, it really warmed my heart that you took the time out of your day to think of me and write kind words :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank you again for all the kind words regarding my father. It really warmed my heart.

His instincts screamed at him to run, run as fast as he could and not look back.   
Neal had been stupid enough to believe that his father would be out of his life for good.   
The boy looked around the room, looking for a way out but he couldn’t escape.   
All those nightmares he had about Keller and his father were coming true but unlike his nightmares this was very real, this time he couldn’t just wake up and get comforted by Peter and Elizabeth.   
This time he was stuck, he was alone and he was terrified.   
The man reached Neal and crouched in front of his son. The strong alcohol smell on his breath was all too familiar to Neal and he knew all too well what just the tiniest amount of alcohol did to his father.   
His father reached out for Neal and the boy flinched, but the man didn’t hit him instead he just wiped away some of the blood on his face.   
The touch was gentle and if Neal didn’t know better he would have described it as caring.   
“Aw, looks like you got a boo-boo”  
His father said in a mocking voice before wiping the blood away from his hand on Neal’s t-shirt.   
The man chuckled and the sound sent a chill down Neal’s spine, he remembered all the times his father chuckled after beating him or his mother.  
As if his dad could read his thought he suddenly smirked.  
“How’s your mother? Oh right, she killed herself that weak, stupid bit-“  
Yet again Neal’s fist flew out and this time connecting with his father’s nose, interrupting his insulting words.   
The man was frozen in place, shocked by the kid’s action.   
From the second the man looked at him again, Neal knew that he had messed up big time. He cursed his impulsiveness and his inability to control the anger.   
Before the boy even got the chance to think about defending himself, he was picked up by the hem of his shirt and thrown onto the floor.   
He cried out as his body connected with the cement floor for the second time that day.   
Neal was lifted up again but before his father had the chance to do something else, Keller stopped him.  
“James!”  
His father turned around, glaring at Keller who had dared to interrupt him.   
“We need junior to be conscious”  
For a second Neal actually thought that Keller had intervened because he had some humanity in him but of course that wasn’t the case.   
Neal was dumped on the chair again and he did his best to hold back the tears while he discretely pinched his arm, just to be totally sure that this wasn’t just a nightmare.   
It wasn’t. He was wide awake. 

Keller and his father were talking quietly to each other and Neal feared what they were planning, putting these two together would not lead to anything good.   
He heard footsteps behind him and soon Kate came into his line of view.   
She crouched in front of him, just like the two men had done, and just like her father she reached out for the now dried blood on his face.   
Her fingers lightly traced the blood up to his wound, located on the top of his forehead.   
She examined it carefully before giving him a warm smile.  
“It’s not that deep, you should be fine”  
Neal didn’t answer, instead he just glared at her. He was never going to forget her betrayal, and he would never forgive her.   
“Neal, I’m so sorry for this I-“  
“Get away from the boy!”  
Kate quickly stood up at James shout and she walked over to the men.   
Neal frowned in confusion as his father put his arm around Kate’s waist and pulled her close to him.   
He would have spent more time thinking about if it meant something, if it weren’t for the name that left Keller’s mouth.   
“Good day, Mrs. Ellington. My name is Matthew Keller”  
Neal shook his head as Keller laughed into the receiver. He didn’t even want to begin to imagine what the man could do to the old woman. How had Keller even found her and what did he want with her?  
“Oh you’re feisty”  
Keller said in an amused voice before adapting a more serious tone.   
“I have someone here that wants to talk to you”  
The man walked over to Neal and held up the phone to his ear but Neal shook his head and kept his mouth shut.   
He desperately wanted to be saved, but not if it meant putting other people in danger.   
“Talk to her or I’ll send someone over and kill her right now”  
Keller whispered and Neal scanned his face, trying to find any sign of the man lying but not finding anything.  
He couldn’t risk it, if Keller wasn’t bluffing he was hurting June anyways.   
“Hi June”  
He could hear an audible gasp from the woman.   
“Neal, honey are you okay?”  
“Yes. I am with Keller, it looks like a warehouse or something please tell Peter”  
Keller took the phone away from him before he could say anymore.   
“Ok that’s enough of that”  
He told Neal before he walked over to James and Kate again.   
“Now Mrs. Ellington, I know you can contact our dear friend Mozzie”  
Wasn’t it enough that June was in danger, now Mozzie was too. Neal wished he could do something but in this situation, he was completely helpless.   
“Ok let me put it like this. If you don’t contact Mozzie, the boy won’t see another sunrise”  
Keller was quiet for a minute before he grinned.   
“Thank you, I knew you would come around”  
The man hung up before looking at Neal, grimacing at the kid.   
“He’s all yours James. Just take him out of my sight, I’m sick of looking at his face”  
Kate gave him a worried look, but she didn’t do anything to stop James from grabbing Neal’s arm and dragging him away. 

Neal was thrown into a small room, much similar to the one he’d been trapped in the first time he was kidnapped.   
He expected his father to hit him or yell at him or anything but instead the man just closed the door and locked it, leaving Neal alone.  
Being trapped in this room was horrible, but it was way better than being used as his father’s punching bag.   
He didn’t know how much time that had passed when the door opened up again and James stepped into the room.   
Neal was given a bottle of water and a plate with a simple sandwich on it.   
He took a bite of the sandwich and immediately regretted it. The bread was hard, the butter tasted way too salty and the cheese was way too old to be eaten.   
“What? The food is not good enough for you?”  
His father questioned and he took the sandwich from Neal and threw it on the ground before stepping on it, making it completely uneatable.   
“It’s that couple you lived with, they spoiled you.”  
Neal’s mouth watered at the thought of Elizabeth’s food, he would give anything to be served it now. His father looked furious, he had always told Neal that he hated spoiled children and that his son should appreciate the small things in life and Neal had never had any other choice than to do that. While Neal and his mother ate the same cheap stew everyday, his father ate nice food and drank until he could barely stand up straight.   
“Good thing you’re not going back to them”  
His father added casually and Neal froze, what did the man mean by that.   
“Peter will save me”  
Neal said in a quiet voice. Peter would show up and save him, just like he had the last time.   
“Peter won’t save you, you are not his son Neal. You are my son, you belong to me”  
The kid shook his head. Peter would save him, even if he wasn’t his son. He just knew it.   
“I already talked to the social worker and you’re mine again”  
“You can’t do that”  
“Of course I can. I am your father, of course they gave me custody”  
James smiled at him and Neal had to blink away his tears.   
His father must be bluffing, he just had to. There was no way they would give him custody, but then of course it wouldn’t be the first time the system failed him.   
Neal wiped at his eyes, he really didn’t want to cry in front of his father.   
James laughed at him and Neal hoped to God that the man was just trying to scare him, because the thought of never seeing Peter or Elizabeth was just too painful to even think about.  
The door opened and Keller popped his head in, wearing a huge smile.  
“Mozzie called me”  
James patted Neal’s head in a condescending way before he left the room, leaving Neal all alone again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just yet again want to thank you for all the positive reviews. It's such an amazing feeling to know that people appreciate your work :)

It hadn’t been easy for Mozzie to leave without knowing if Neal ever got saved or not, but he didn’t know what Keller would do to get back at him so he needed a head start.  
Within an hour he had left the city and Neal behind, hoping that he had made the right choice.   
He couldn’t abandon the kid completely so before he left he had asked June to update him as soon as she heard anything about Neal’s wellbeing.   
Through the woman’s updates he knew what happened in the kid’s life, the boy was passed around for a bit. One second he was staying with June, then the next he was taken away to a foster home and then all of the sudden he was living with a FBI agent.   
Mozzie wanted desperately to return to New York and find the child but he didn’t want to risk putting Neal in danger yet again.  
He didn’t hear from June for a while and he had to assume that the kid was doing okay with the FBI agent. Mozzie started to relax but it turned out that he had relaxed way too soon, of course Keller had managed to escape and it didn’t take long for the man to locate Neal and now the boy was in danger after all.   
Mozzie didn’t even hesitate before calling Keller, he was not going to let a kid get hurt or killed because of him.   
He was given an address and just minutes after the phone call ended, Mozzie was sitting on a train leading back to New York.

Once he was back in New York it wasn’t hard to find the FBI agents house and once he dropped Neal’s name it wasn’t hard to get inside either.  
As soon as he got inside, a golden retriever walked to him and greeted him happily.  
The suit however was not as friendly as his dog and he still had his hand on his holster.  
“What do you know about Neal?”  
“I might know where he is”  
The man slowly moved his hand away from the holster while his wife got up from the couch, looking at Mozzie with a hopeful look.   
“Where is he?”  
“I can not be totally sure but Keller did give me an address”  
“Why would Keller give you an address? What’s your connection in all of this?”  
Mozzie gestured towards the dining table.   
“Why don’t we sit down and discuss this? Perhaps over a glass of wine?”  
The couple shared a look before the wife went to the kitchen, returning seconds later with three glasses.   
The suit fetched a bottle of wine while giving Mozzie a skeptical look.   
As soon as they were seated and the wine was poured the suit gave him a serious look.   
“You better start talking”  
Mozzie sipped his wine while trying to find a way to explain the situation the best without incriminating himself. You had to be careful about what you said around an agent after all.   
“I met Neal on the street, I took pity in him, I made sure he was fed and I offered my home to him. We bonded.”  
“So you just picked up a random street kid?”  
The suit asked in a skeptical tone, and Mozzie could understand where he was coming from. Normally when grown men picked up young kids from the street, it was for much darker reasons.   
“As I said, I took pity in him. I used to be an orphan as well”  
The couple seemed to drop some of the suspicion and believe what Mozzie was telling them.  
“How did Keller get in to the picture?”  
Mozzie told them a story about how he and Keller used to be friends but had a fallout, the man got mad and decided to kidnap Neal for revenge.   
“So you were just friends, not ‘business partners’?`”  
The agent asked suspiciously but Mozzie insisted that he had never been involved in any of Keller’s illegal activities. The suit didn’t look totally to convinced but he seemed to realize that there were more important things to focus on.   
“What did you do?”  
“Well, it’s a dark day when I turn towards the system instead of recoiling but I called in an anonymous tip”  
“That was you?”  
“Yes and now I’m asking for help again”  
“Whatever I can do”  
It seemed like the couple actually cared about the kid and if that was the case then they could be Neal’s happy ending, the one he himself never got as a child.  
If that was the case then he wouldn’t drag Neal further into the criminal life, he couldn’t deny a child a good family after all. Even if it meant that Neal would live with a suit. 

The address turned out to be an abandoned warehouse, just like Neal had told June. That did make Mozzie feel a little more hopeful that this is where Neal was, but just to be safe Peter had given him a watch that had a GPS system.   
Peter stood next to him, gun in hand, and a handful of agents were behind them. Mozzie never thought that he would feel safe being surrounded by FBI agents.   
“You ready, Mozzie?”  
Mozzie nodded before opening the big metal door, that creaked loudly.  
He walked into the building with agents in tow, but he came to halt just seconds later.  
In the middle of the large room was Keller, sitting on an old wooden stool, shaking his head at them.  
“I really expected you to be smarter, Moz”  
He didn’t get the chance to answer because the suit pointed his gun right at Keller’s head before demanding to know where Neal were.   
“Did you really expect me to be stupid enough to bring Junior with me?”  
As expected, Keller had lost his trust in Mozzie and he had expected Mozzie to not come alone.   
The man got up, walking calmly towards the group.   
“Don’t you guys worry, junior is safe…for now”  
Keller was taunting them and no one could do anything about it. They couldn’t shoot him and they couldn’t arrest him, not as long as Neal was captured.   
“You are coming with me”  
He said to Mozzie before looking at the agents, who still had their guns raised.   
“And you will all back off. I have people watching and if you follow us, junior will suffer. Capiche?”  
Keller waited until Peter nodded before turning back to Mozzie.   
None of them were worried, Mozzie’s watch would lead the agents right to Keller. They just had to wait before following.   
One way or another, Neal was going to be saved.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the absence, I've just been really low lately and it's been hard to find the motivation to write, but I finally managed to get a chapter together and I hope you will like it :)

It worried Mozzie that the first thing he saw in the van was blood and he turned towards Keller, giving the man a demanding look.  
“Don’t worry Moz, I told you that your little buddy was fine. I can’t however guarantee that he’s in one piece, but he’s fine”  
He really didn’t like the sound of that, but he didn’t dare to argue with the man.  
Keller truly was a sick man and Mozzie was not going to risk pushing the wrong buttons and causing the little guy to get hurt even more.  
Mozzie got into the van and Keller slammed the door shut and seconds later he could hear the engine start.  
The drive wasn’t too long and they soon reached their destination. Mozzie looked at his watch and saw that only half an hour had gone by.  
The door was opened and before Mozzie even got the chance to adjust his eyes to the light, he was grabbed by the wrist and dragged out of the van.  
He didn’t get the chance to take a look on his surroundings before he was dragged inside.  
Mozzie immediately looked around, trying to spot Neal. He saw a man and a woman sitting by a table, talking to each other and he saw four men who were most likely Keller’s goons but he saw no kid.  
What if Neal wasn’t even here? What if Keller kept him somewhere else?  
“Where’s the kid?”  
He asked Keller but the man chose to ignore him until they reached a chair placed in the middle of the room.  
“You and I are going to have a little chat”  
“Not until you release Neal. That was the deal, me for him.”  
“I’m sorry but Neal belongs to James now”  
Keller pointed at the man at the table and Mozzie didn’t even want to begin to imagine what the man was planning to do with the child.  
It seemed that Mozzie’s instinct to not trust Keller had been correct and he was glad that he had reached out to the FBI.  
Clearly he couldn’t let them know that he had backup on the way, so he used his excellent acting skills to yell at Keller, pretending that he was really getting betrayed with no back up plan at all.  
Keller just smirked at him, amused by the anger.  
In the background he saw the man, James, get up from his seat and walking towards a door.  
Mozzie hoped that they kept Neal in that room and he opened his mouth to shout to him, hoping Neal could shout back and confirm that he was there or at the very least provide him some comfort by letting him know that help was on the way.  
Keller didn’t like this idea though, so before Mozzie even had the chance to call out for Neal, the man hit him right in the face. He instantly checked if his nose was broken, and by the time he had established that it wasn’t, the door was closed again and James was gone.  
At least Keller had basically confirmed that the kid was here, unless he had some other prisoner in there that he didn’t want Mozzie to know about. 

James emerged from the room after a while, wearing a big smile and a blood stain on his white shirt. The sight of the blood sickened him and he went from hoping Neal was unharmed to hoping that the boy was even alive.  
Mozzie glared at the man as he walked over to the woman again, at least the woman seemed unsettled by the blood while James didn’t seem to care that it was there.  
James just continued smiling as if this was the happiest day of his life, and Mozzie knew that if he ever got his hands on James he wouldn’t show any mercy.  
The silence of the room was interrupted by Keller’s phone, but before Keller even got it out of his pocket, a loud bang was heard and seconds later the door flew up.  
The words ‘Freeze FBI’ had never before sounded so lovely in his ears and he got up from the chair with a smirk on his face.  
Mozzie looked at Keller who looked both confused and scared before he decided that it was a good idea to reach for his gun.  
Keller pointed the gun at Mozzie and it took him a couple of seconds to realize that Keller would not hesitate to shoot him. Once that realization hit, he threw himself out of the way.  
He reacted way too late though and he felt the bullet hit him as he fell to the ground.  
Mozzie heard another gun shot and Keller fell to the ground as well.  
He could hear someone talking to him, but he couldn’t make out the words as his consciousness was slipping away from him.  
The last thing he saw, before his world went black, was Peter kicking in the locked door. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time was slipping away from him again, and he didn’t know how long he had been in here.  
Had it just been minutes, or had days slipped him by?  
The last time a week had slipped him by and he didn’t know if he could handle that again. This room was colder and darker than the other room and the silence was already messing with his mind.  
His head was still hurting and despite knowing that you shouldn’t fall asleep after a possible head injury, he was getting closer to sleep by the minute. At first he had been positive that Peter would show up any minute and that he would have to stay awake until then, but with time he started to believe his father’s words more and more. Maybe his father wasn’t trying to scare him, maybe he was telling the truth and no one was coming for him.  
The door opened and his dad stepped in again, and Neal bit his lip to prevent a whimper.  
His dad wasn’t even mad this time, he wasn’t even drunk. No this time he hurt Neal because he enjoyed it, and to Neal that was the worst part.  
He started out by taunting him, doing his best to scare Neal and to try to manipulate him into believing things that weren’t true.  
Neal did his best to ignore his words, but it was hard to not get hurt by his father’s insistence that the Burkes didn’t care about him and that no one was coming for him.  
When he didn’t give his father any response the man did what he always did, he got physical.  
His father lifted him up, forcing the boy to stand up. He then asked Neal to look at him, but he had a hard time focusing and his slow reaction only managed to agitate his father.  
He punched Neal right in the face, in the same way Neal had punched him earlier. Luckily his father had been smart enough to not hit too hard, but he still managed to cause a nose bleed.  
Neal whimpered at the additional pain before his dad lifted him up into his arms.  
The man surprised Neal by hugging him to his chest, in an almost loving embrace. The blood from his nose smeared on his dad’s shirt but he didn’t seem to notice or care.  
Neal’s need for closeness and comfort got the better of him and he threw his arms around his father’s neck, hoping that the man had a sudden magical change in personality.  
His hope was short lived because as soon as he threw his arms around his neck, his dad embrace tightened to the point where Neal had difficulty breathing.  
His father had just taunted him again, and this was probably the worst one since it gave him an image of what his dad could have been like.  
He was released and his father left the room, apparently satisfied with his torture for now, and Neal returned to the corner. 

A sudden bang caused him to jolt awake. He hadn’t even noticed when he dozed off.  
Another bang was heard, the sound all too loud in his head. He heard more sounds from outside of the room, and he put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes, hoping that nothing bad was going on.  
All of a sudden a couple of strong arms grabbed him and he cried out, not wanting his father to hurt him again. Yet again his father was pulling him into an embrace but Neal wasn’t going to fall for it this time so instead he used his last strength to try to escape his father’s grip.  
His dad, however did not budge and instead the embrace just tightened. Neal could hear his name being called but he didn’t listen to it until his head was carefully pressed against his father’s chest.  
It was the smell that caused him to stop fighting the man, because the smell of alcohol was vacant and instead there was a familiar smell in its place, a smell he couldn’t really place but it had caused his body to relax.  
“Calm down buddy, it’s just me”  
The warm, caring voice was like music to his ears and he had to look up to really believe it.  
It wasn’t his father that had grabbed him and once he realized that he sobbed before throwing his arms around Peter’s neck.


	26. Chapter 26

They were followed by a black car, doubtlessly ordered by Keller to make sure that they weren’t going to drive after the van.   
Eventually Keller’s guys seemed satisfied and as soon as the car stopped tailing them, they wasted no time following the GPS that showed them where Mozzie was.   
The signal led them to an old abandoned warehouse located in an equally abandoned industrial area. Peter was struck by déjà vu as the location reminded him of the last time he went looking for Keller, except this time there was more at stake than finding some stolen art.   
This time he knew about the kid being held captive inside and this time he was emotional involved.   
They parked the cars on the neighbouring lot and walked the last couple of meters, in order to prevent eventual guards to alert Keller.   
This turned out to be a smart move since as soon as they rounded the corner they spotted two guards.   
One of them grabbed his phone, presumable calling Keller, but Peter let members of the tac team take the guards down as he gestured towards the door.   
They managed to break down the door in the matter of seconds and as soon as they were inside they yelled   
“Freeze FBI!”  
The armed guards immediately dropped their weapons, realizing that they were outnumbered, and two people, the woman most likely Kate, put up their hands in defeat.   
Keller was standing in the middle of the room, with Mozzie sitting in a chair in front of him.   
The man was frozen in place, his hand by his pocket where his phone had been ringing just seconds before.   
Keller suddenly unfroze and in a swift movement he managed to grab his gun, that had been tucked in the hem of his pants, and aimed it right at Mozzie’s head.   
After that it all happened so fast, Mozzie jumped out of the way at the same time that Keller pressed the trigger before someone managed to shoot Keller.   
Mozzie fell to the ground just seconds before Keller, and when Peter reached them he found that Mozzie was alive but he was barely conscious.  
“Somebody call an ambulance!”  
He called out before trying to establish eye contact with Mozzie.   
“Where’s Neal?”  
He asked but Mozzie showed no sign that he even heard him.   
Jones showed up by his side and started to apply pressure to the wound on Mozzie’s chest.   
Peter tried to ask Mozzie again but the man was still unresponsive and he felt the desperation grow.   
He stood up, confident that Jones would do his best to keep Mozzie alive until the ambulance arrived, and looked around him.   
“He’s in there!”  
Kate suddenly said, receiving a dirty look from the man next to her, and pointed at a door.   
Of course, Keller had kept Neal in a room the last time as well and he berated himself from not thinking about that detail.  
He rushed over to the door and managed to kick it down in just a few tries. 

Peter immediately spotted the child that sat in the corner, curled up into a ball with his eyes closed and his small hands pressed firmly over his ears. Peter felt an incredible rage at Keller and his people as he spotted the blood smeared over the boy’s face.   
He hurried over to Neal, eager to hold the kid in his arms again but as he grabbed him the boy immediately started to weakly struggle, like a wounded animal using its last strength to fight.   
Peter tried his best to calm the kid down but Neal just continued to struggle until Peter pressed him against his chest, pinning his arms down to make sure he wouldn’t get hit.   
“Calm down buddy, it’s just me”  
He said in a soothing voice and suddenly he felt the child relax in his arms before slowly lifting his bloody face and looking up at him.   
Neal’s blue eyes met his and the confused fear turned into recognition as the kid realized who was holding him.   
He let out a heartwrenching sob before he threw his arms around the agent’s neck.   
Peter rubbed Neal’s back as the kid cried and he waited until the boy had calmed down before he carried him out of the room, just like he had the last time except this time it was Peter who wouldn’t let go.  
To be perfectly honest he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to let Neal go, he just wanted to hold the kid in his arms and protect him from all the evil in the world.   
Suddenly Neal tensed in his arms and when Peter looked at him he saw that Neal was staring at the strange man who had been sitting with Kate.  
“You okay, bud?”  
Neal turned back to him and Peter was taken aback by the look in the boy’s eyes. It wasn’t just fear, it was pure terror as if the kid suddenly feared for his life.   
“Don’t wanna go”  
“What?”  
“Don’t wanna go with him, Peter”  
The boy pleaded with a terrified voice and Peter looked at the man in confusion, unsure of why Neal had such a violent reaction to the man.   
Judging by the blood stain on the man’s shirt he had been the one to hurt Neal but that didn’t explain why Neal thought he was going to go with the man.   
He looked at Neal again and noticed the wound on his forehead. If he had hit his head, he could have suffered a concussion and he could simply just be confused.   
“Please Peter, I don’t wanna go back to daddy”  
Neal pleaded and Peter froze when it was revealed who the man was.   
He felt a murderous rage inside of him and the child in his arms were literally the only thing stopping him from marching over there and kill the man himself.   
Not only had the man abused his own son but now he was involved in kidnapping him as well, how could a man be that twisted?  
He called Diana over and pointed at Neal’s dad.   
“That man is Neal’s father”  
Her eyes darkened and he could see the anger in her face as she walked over to the monster to make sure that his arrest would be a highly unpleasant experience.   
“Wanna go home with you”  
Neal suddenly mumbled in a drowsy voice as he pressed his head against the agent’s shoulder, close to sleep.   
“Don’t worry you’re going home with me, but I think we should get you checked out in a hospital first, alright kiddo?”  
“No”  
The boy whined but Peter ignored his protest as he walked out of the building, making sure that Neal’s head was pressed against his shoulder so that he wouldn’t see the paramedics trying to bring Mozzie back to life. 

On the way to the hospital he called Elizabeth, knowing she would kill him if he didn’t, and she promised to meet them there.   
Sure enough, the first thing he saw when he walked through the entrance was Elizabeth waiting for them. She was fiddling with something in her hands and he could clearly see tears in her eyes.   
Elizabeth spotted them and she chocked back a sob as she saw that Neal was really there and that he was finally safe.   
She carefully threw her arms around her boys before turning her attention to Neal who was still fighting sleep in Peters arms.   
His wife was clearly worried by all the blood on the kid’s face but she tried to ignored it as she carefully caressed his cheek.   
“I’ve been so worried about you, sweetie”  
She said, her voice filled with emotion, before she handed him the cuddly toy that looked like Satchmo.  
Neal accepted the toy but he looked at Elizabeth with confusion written all over his face.   
“Mommy?”  
It was the second time the boy had accidently called her mommy but this time she looked less moved by his words and more concerned.   
Just like Peter, she now suspected that the kid had suffered a concussion.  
“I’ve already filled out all the paperwork, a doctor should be out shortly”  
She said, trying to sound as if she wasn’t worried to death.   
They sat down in the waiting area and Elizabeth grabbed some wet wipes and carefully started to clean up the blood from Neal’s face.

The doctor established that Neal had indeed suffered a concussion but allowed them to go home, under the condition that they’d come back in case he got worse.   
At first the doctor had given Peter dirty looks when he saw the multiple fresh bruises on Neal’s body and it wasn’t until Peter showed him his badge that the doctor believed that Neal had actually been kidnapped and not that Peter had been hurting him.   
He had to appreciate that the doctor had seemed ready to alert the authorities when he suspected abuse, but at the same time he was disgusted by the fact that he was even for a second suspected to be the same monster Neal’s dad was.   
The man had really done a number on Neal and in the car home the boy was still pleading to go home with them and not his daddy, and it wasn’t until they walked in to the house that Neal finally believed them.   
Elizabeth went upstairs to get some new, clean clothes for Neal as Peter placed Neal on the couch.   
The child needed to get some sleep but the adults didn’t want to leave him upstairs alone in case he needed them.   
“Peter?”  
The agent turned to the child who was absently patting Satchmo while he waited.   
“You’re my hero”  
Peter would’ve lied if he said that the kid’s words didn’t completely melt his heart.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to get another chapter together and hope you will like it.   
> I would also like to take the time to wish you a merry Christmas (or happy holidays if you don’t celebrate Christmas) :D

As soon as they had helped Neal change his clothes, the boy fell asleep on the couch with his Satchmo toy clutched tightly to his chest, and the real Satchmo lying on the floor next to him, ready to protect the youngling.   
The adults sat down at the kitchen table, but both of them kept glancing over at the couch, as if they looked away for too long the boy would disappear.   
“You have to make sure that Keller can’t escape again.”  
Elizabeth said, looking at her husband, who looked like he had aged several years in the past hours.   
He looked at her and she could see the pain and exhaustion in his chocolate eyes.   
“El, I have to tell you something, Keller wasn’t alone in this.”  
“You’re talking about Kate?”  
“Yeah, she was there but I’m not talking about her.”  
Peter paused, and she knew that whatever he was about to say was something bad.   
“James Bennett, Neal’s father, was there as well.”  
It took a few seconds for his words to really sink in but once it did she was filled with rage. Just the thought of that man made her want to go find him and hurt him just like he had hurt the sweet, innocent young boy currently sleeping peacefully on their couch.   
She didn’t answer him, instead she just clenched her fists so tight that her nails dug into her skin.  
A couple of big, warm hands were placed on hers and she slowly relaxed, unclenching her fists before looking into her husband’s eyes.   
“El, I promise that I’ll do anything in my power to make sure that they will all go away for a very, very long time.”  
Elizabeth forced a smile, knowing that Peter would really do everything he could to make sure that the men were punished, even if no amount of prison time would ever come close to justifying what they did to the young boy.   
“Did James hurt him?”  
“Yeah, he did and the worst part is that he wasn’t even bothered about having his six year old son’s blood on his shirt.”  
Peter sounded as disgusted as she felt and there was not a single part of her that could even begin to understand that monster of a man.   
How could anyone ever hurt their child? A parent had a responsibility to protect and care for their defenseless, innocent kid, and James had done the exact opposite with Neal.   
“James managed to mess with his head too,”  
Peter said and Elizabeth understood why the boy had continued to beg them to take him with them and not go back. She had thought that it was just simple confusion but now she knew that Neal’s father had told him he was going back and the poor boy had believed him.   
It made her wonder if that had been James plan, if he had taken Neal with him if they hadn’t saved him, or had the man even planned on letting the kid live?  
The thought made her shudder and she thanked all her lucky stars that Neal’s odd friend had decided to involve the FBI and make sure that Neal got saved.  
“What happened to Mozzie?”  
They had been so busy with Neal that she hadn’t even thought of the man until now, she really wanted to talk to him again and make sure to thank him.   
A guilty look appeared on her husband’s face as she mentioned the man.   
“Keller shot him and it looked pretty bad when we left. I should really get an update on that.”  
Peter answered and got up from the chair before walking out the backdoor to make the call in private.

When he returned inside, she immediately asked him if Mozzie was okay.   
She really hoped that the man was alright, because she didn’t even want to begin to imagine telling Neal that his friend was dead.   
“He’s in surgery. He’s in a critical situation but at least he’s alive.”  
Elizabeth released a sigh of relief at the news, hoping that the man would get better.   
“Should we tell Neal?”  
She asked but Peter shook his head and answered that they should wait until he got better and she realized that he was right, the boy was having a hard enough time already.  
They sat in silence for a while until Satchmo reluctantly left the sleeping boy and went over to the door, whining to tell his owners what he needed.   
Peter volunteered to walk him and after she had reassured him that she would be fine on her own, her husband and dog walked out the door.   
Despite her insistence that she would be fine, she wasn’t.   
Her brain kept reminding her that the last time she was alone with Neal, he had been kidnapped and that thought made her sit down in the armchair and watch the boy like a hawk.  
Even if she knew that Keller and James had been taken care of, she was still ready to protect Neal.  
If anyone tried to come for him they would have to go through her, and it turned out that something was coming for him but it wasn’t something she could protect him from.   
This time the monsters decided to attack the child in his dreams.  
Neal started to whimper in his sleep and Elizabeth crouched down in front of the couch, and then she started to stroke the kid’s hair while trying to make him calm down.   
Despite Elizabeth’s comforting the whimpers escalated to crying and then Neal suddenly shot up, letting out a scared scream.   
She reached for him but the child flinched away from her, as if he had been burned.   
“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s just me.”  
Neal looked at her in confusion and she had to patiently wait for him to recognize her, even if it was really hard when she wanted nothing else but to hold him in his arms and tell him that it was okay.   
After what felt like an eternity, Neal’s tired and concussed brain realized where he was and who was with him and he immediately held out his arms for a hug.   
Elizabeth sat down on the couch and Neal crawled up in her lap before throwing his arms around her neck.  
“I don’t wanna die”  
Neal suddenly said between the sniffles and Elizabeth was so shocked by his words that she didn’t know what to say.   
“Please ‘Lizbeth.”  
He pleaded while he held on to her tighter, as if he was afraid she was going to disappear.   
“Don’t let daddy kill me.”  
Elizabeth’s heart broke at his words and she tightened his grip around him as well. Those words should never have to come out of a child’s mouth, and a child should never have to have nightmares about their own father killing them.   
“Don’t worry, honey. He’s never going to hurt you ever again.”  
She promised and she meant it. As long as she and Peter were around they would never let that bastard put his filthy hands on Neal ever again. 

She heard the door open and seconds later Satchmo came running, it was as if the dog could sense that the little human was in need of comfort. The dog started to whine and didn’t stop until Neal released his grip of Elizabeth and payed attention to the dog, giggling softly when Satchmo started to lick his hand.   
Shortly after Satchmo’s entrance, Peter came into the living room.  
“He had a nightmare.”  
Elizabeth informed her husband and he responded with a nod before sitting down next to them, gently patting Neal’s leg in a comforting gesture.  
The kid looked at Peter in surprise, he had probably been to focused on Satchmo to notice the man entering the room.   
“I heard you had a bad dream, kiddo.”  
Peter said and Neal nodded before bowing his head in shame.   
“I was really scared, I’m not as brave as you, Peter,”  
“Hey, you can be scared and still be brave.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes, and I think you’re the bravest kid I’ve ever met.”  
Neal looked astonished by Peter’s words, it was like he just couldn’t believe that a courageous FBI agent would think that he was brave.   
Elizabeth agreed with Peter, you had to be brave to meet James everyday for several years and you had to brave to make it through all that abuse and still be the kind, sweet little boy Neal was.   
“Do you want to know a secret?”  
Elizabeth asked and Neal nodded eagerly.   
“I think you’re even braver than Peter.”  
Elizabeth whispered causing Neal’s face to light up before he looked at Peter with a secretive smile.   
Peter tried to get Neal to tell him what Elizabeth had whispered but he refused and Peter ended up gently tickling the boy who started to giggle.  
Elizabeth smiled at her boys and in her heart the scene felt just right.   
She could see the happiness in both of their eyes and it was in that moment that she knew that they were made for each other and she would never ever let the boy leave them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been thinking a lot about the future of this fic and I think that the drama with Keller and James is officially over, I don’t want to torture the characters too much.  
> I could still write more chapters but they would be more revolved around the family aspect and not that much drama, would that still be fun to read or should I try to wrap this up?  
> Let me know what you think :)


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I got really inspired all of the sudden and managed to get another chapter together and I hope you will like.   
> Most people thought that I should continue which made me really happy since I love writing this.   
> So, I will write for a while longer and we’ll see where it goes.
> 
> I would like to thanks for all the comments and kudos and then I would also like to wish you all a happy new year and hope that 2018 will be a great year for all of us :D

The following week was miserable for every single member of the Burke household.   
Every time Neal managed to fall asleep; a nightmare woke him up within a short amount of time and he hadn’t spent more than three consecutive hours asleep.  
When the kid was awake he was tired, grumpy and still experiencing some symptoms from his concussion.   
The nausea, headaches, trouble to focus and oversensitivity to loud noises and bright lights kept coming and going, making it hard for the boy to get even a single minute where he didn’t feel like absolute crap.  
The doctor had told them that it would take some time for the symptoms to go away but despite knowing that it was normal, the adults kept worrying about him.  
Peter and Elizabeth were completely exhausted as well, Neal’s constant nightmares made it hard for them to get any sleep themselves and they spent every waking hour fussing over him, doing their very best to make him feel better.  
Every single task became a huge challenge since a sick, exhausted Neal became a very difficult child who couldn’t seem to stop crying and screaming.  
Elizabeth had taken some time off work to take care of Neal but Peter was still going to work, despite the fact that he felt like he was about to collapse any second.  
Even Satchmo suffered from constantly sensing the boy’s pain without being able to comfort his tiny human friend.   
It was really hard for all of them to see Neal suffer without being able to take his pain away, but the absolute worst part of it all was that Neal kept apologizing to them.  
Neal didn’t understand that he didn’t have to apologize for being sick, and they quickly came to understand that it was another sign of how much James had messed the poor boy up.

After that first, terrible week the symptoms started to go away and even if Neal still had horrible nightmares, they had decreased in number and he could finally rest for a longer period of time.   
As he got more sleep and suffered less pain, the kid stopped being constantly difficult and the adults could finally get some sleep as well and stop feeling like zombies.  
They even decided that the kid was ready to hear about Mozzie, after he had started to ask questions about how Peter had managed to find him.   
“Neal, we need to talk to you.”  
Peter said to the boy who was sitting by the table drawing and he immediately dropped his crayon before looking at the adults with an alarmed look in his eyes.  
“Did I do something wrong?”  
He asked, he had picked up on Peter’s serious tone and immediately jumped to the conclusion that they conversation would be about him.  
They sat down opposite Neal before Elizabeth answered his question.   
“No sweetie, we need to talk to you about your friend Mozzie.”  
Peter frowned as Neal suddenly paled and the alarm in his eyes were replaced with guilt. He made a mental note to question the kid about that later, but for now he had to stay focused on the bad news he had to bring.  
“How do you know about Mozzie?”  
Neal mumbled, and Peter’s gut feeling said that there was definitely something about his connection to Mozzie that he didn’t want them to know about.  
“Mozzie came to us asking for the FBI’s help after Keller called him.”  
“Mozzie actually came back?!”  
Neal shouted happily, and it sounded as if he had just won the lottery.  
“Inside voice, please.”  
“Sorry. Where is he?”  
Neal looked around the room as if his friend would pop out of nowhere while Peter exchanged a sad look with his wife.  
“Buddy, Mozzie was in the warehouse and Keller shot him.”  
Once again Neal’s expression changed and his eyes filled up with tears, this conversation was truly an emotional rollercoaster for the child.   
“Is Mozzie dead?”  
“No, but he’s in the hospital.”  
Neal swiftly jumped off his chair, accidently sending some crayons crashing to the floor in the process.  
The boy grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled in it.  
“Come on, I have to go see him right now!”  
“No Neal, we can’t-“  
Peter didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Neal gave him a light push.  
“I want to visit Mozzie! If you won’t let me, I’ll go by myself!”  
Neal gave them an angry, defiant look before he turned towards the door but he didn’t even get the chance to walk away before peter reached out and grabbed him.  
“I was going to say that we can’t go because the visiting hours are over for today, but we can go tomorrow.”  
Neal turned back them and gave them a sheepish smile before apologizing for jumping to conclusions. The adults let his behavior slide, knowing he was just worried about his friend.

The next day Peter and Neal drove to the hospital, while Elizabeth had to reluctantly go to her job after one of her coworkers had called in sick.   
Neal had brought the white t-shirt that Mozzie gave him, and was clutching it tightly to his chest as they entered the sterile room.   
Mozzie was lying in a bed with several machines hooked up to him and Peter had a hard time believing that this was the same man that had showed up on his doorstep just a week ago.  
He felt something press up against him and as he looked down he saw that it was Neal who was seeking comfort.   
If it was hard for Peter to see the man in this state, he didn’t even want to imagine how scary it must look for a six-year-old.  
He crouched down and carefully turned Neal around so that the kid was looking at him instead of Mozzie.   
“I know it looks really scary but it’s nothing to worry about, all the machines are helping him.”  
“Are you sure he’s not dead?”  
“Yes, he’s just sleeping.”  
“Mommy looked like she was sleeping too.”  
Peter was taken aback by Neal’s words, he had never been aware of the fact that the kid had seen his mother’s dead body.  
He stood up again before grabbing Neal’s hand and leading him over to the bed before trying to explain to him how the machines were keeping his friend alive.  
It took a while but finally the boy started to calm down and he understood that Mozzie was very much alive, and that he was indeed just sleeping.  
Neal put the t-shirt on the small bedside table, next to a get well card that Peter discovered was from none other than June Ellington.   
“Hi Mozzie, it’s me Neal.”  
The boy said as he slowly reached out and carefully touched the man’s arm.   
“I wanna say thank you for helping Peter find me.”  
Neal looked up at Mozzie’s face as if his presence would be enough to wake Mozzie up, but the man remained unconscious.   
“You have to wake up soon Mozzie ‘cause you have lots of things you promised to teach me.”  
Peter immediately noticed that Neal started to get upset and walked over to the boy, just to be next to him in case he needed him.   
“I really miss you Mozzie, please don’t die.”  
As soon as he said those words, Neal turned around and looked up at Peter with tears escaping his eyes and slowly making their way down his cheeks.  
Peter lifted the boy up and hugged him tightly as he told him that Mozzie was a fighter and he wouldn’t give up anytime soon, at least that’s what he hoped.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I’m back.  
> I apologize for the absence, I’ve just been struggling a lot with my depression lately so it’s been hard to find the motivation to write.  
> That being said I can’t say that this is the best I’ve ever written but I did my best and hopefully you’ll like it.

The steady rise and fall of the man’s chest was the only indication that Mozzie was still alive, apart from that he looked way too pale and way too much like a corpse.  
Neal was sitting in a chair next to the bed, as if his mere presence would bring his friend back to them. He had been visiting almost everyday for a week now, but no matter how much he begged Mozzie to please wake up, the man stayed asleep.  
Neal yawned before he looked around the room that was eerily quiet, he wasn’t sure where Peter and Elizabeth had gone or where the nurses were.  
Maybe he should go look for them, or at least find a nurse and ask about the adults’ whereabouts.  
Just as he got out of the chair, he heard coughing from the bed and he completely froze.  
“Mozzie?”  
He asked and the man turned his head to look at him, he still looked way too pale but he was awake at last.  
“You’re awake!”  
He exclaimed, but the man didn’t answer instead he just started to cough again, and this time Neal could see blood. Mozzie was coughing blood.  
Luckily a nurse had been showing him some different buttons, and he remembered which one to press to get one of them here.  
He pressed it, while he watched Mozzie cough and cough and cough.  
The coughing didn’t end, and no nurse was coming.  
“I’m gonna get help!”  
He told Mozzie and sprinted towards the door but was stopped by Mozzie saying his name.  
“Come here, Neal.”  
“But-“  
“COME HERE!”  
The aggressive command sounded exactly like James and by pure instinct he started to walk back to the bed, even if he should be getting help instead.  
Mozzie patted the edge of the bed, indicating that Neal should sit down and he did.  
“I regret meeting you.”  
Mozzie said, his voice low and menacing and it managed to take Neal by surprise.  
“W-what?”  
“I’m going to die because you were stupid enough to get kidnapped.”  
Tears started to burn in his eyes and he tried desperately to blink them away, was Mozzie really dying?  
The nurses had said that he was getting better, did they lie to him?  
Suddenly the coughing started again, more violently than before and then suddenly Mozzie’s whole body jerked before the man went still.  
Neal sat silent, waiting for his friend to move again but nothing happened.  
He carefully shook his shoulder but Mozzie didn’t react so Neal shook him harder but still no reaction.  
Mozzie’s chest was no longer moving and Neal was just about to scream for help when the door opened and a nurse walked in.  
He turned around and looked at the nurse, who shook her head and sighed.  
“Looks like you killed him sweetie.”  
The tears started to roll down his cheeks as the nurse started to walk closer.  
“Sweetie.”  
She repeated while she got closer.  
“Sweetie.”  
Her voice was suddenly distorted, she sounded more like a robot than a human being.  
“Sweeeeetie.”  
She dragged out the word at the same time that her face started to distort as well, making her look like a woman from a Picasso painting.  
She reached for him, and Neal noticed that the nurse had long, sharp claws instead of nails and as she grabbed him, they dug into his skin.  
He closed his eyes and screamed, hoping that someone would hear him and come to help.  
“Sweetie.”  
The word was repeated, but this time it sounded much friendlier, and definitely more human.  
He opened his eyes and saw the nurse from his dream crouching in front of him, but she looked normal.  
“Your daddy is just outside talking to a doctor, do you want me to get him?”  
For a second, Neal was gripped by fear as he imagined his dad being free and ready to hurt him again, but then he realized that the nurse was talking about Peter.  
He didn’t bother correcting her, instead he just nodded his head and the nurse left him.  
Seconds later, Peter came into the room and Neal flew up from the chair and threw himself at Peter, who immediately picked him up.  
“I’m sorry.”  
Neal said as he threw his arms around Peter’s neck.  
“What are you sorry for?”  
Peter asked in confusion and Neal let out a sob as he thought back to what had just happened.  
“It’s my fault that Mozzie’s dead.”  
The agent was quiet for a couple of seconds before he with a gentle voice asked Neal to look at him.  
When he did, the man gave him a small smile.  
“Mozzie isn’t dead, buddy.”  
“But I saw him die.”  
Neal protested and turned his head to look at the bed, but instead of seeing Mozzie with his lips and hands covered in blood, he saw a sleeping Mozzie with a still moving chest.  
Suddenly Elizabeth was there with two cups of coffee and a sympathetic look on her face.  
“The nurse said you had a pretty bad dream, honey.”  
She said and it dawned on him that it had all been a dream and that Mozzie was still alive.  
“But none of this is your fault, Neal.”  
“Mozzie got shot because of me.”  
“No he was shot because Keller chose to shoot him. It’s Keller’s fault, not yours.”  
He wanted to believe them, but fact is that Keller wouldn’t have shot Mozzie if he had never been kidnapped in the first place. 

It was his constant worry about Mozzie that caused the adults to decide that it was time for Neal to start school, since he had more or less recovered from his concussion.  
They hoped that it would work as a distraction for him, and it would be the start to living a normal life. At first Neal was excited about the idea, not only because school could distract him from the anxious thoughts and make time go by faster but he was also looking forward to become more like a normal kid.  
When Monday came along however, he wasn’t that excited anymore.  
His excitement had been replaced with fear, what if something happened to Mozzie and he wasn’t there?  
Neal just picked at his breakfast while he tried his hardest to look like he was feeling absolutely miserable.  
“You okay, sweetie?”  
Elizabeth asked, and Neal looked up at her, with tears in his eyes.  
“I don’t feel so good, I don’t think I can go to school today.”  
Neal answered and the adults shared a look that he couldn’t quite read.  
“Well you don’t have to go if you feel that bad, but if you don’t feel well enough for school I don’t think it would be a good idea to visit Mozzie this afternoon either. It’s better if you stay at home and rest, don’t you think?”  
Peter’s words made Neal sit up straighter and grab his spoon, ready to actually eat the cereal. He’d rather spend a few hours in school and then see Mozzie than not see him at all.  
“I don’t feel that bad actually.”  
He said and the adults looked at each other again, this time wearing amused smiles and Neal frowned as he realized that they had seen right through his lie.  
“You tricked me!”  
He exclaimed, looking at them in disbelief but they just started to laugh.  
“You tried to trick us first.”  
Neal crossed his arms with a huff. Apparently, he wasn’t as good of a liar as he thought he was, or the adults were smarter than he thought they were.  
“Finish your breakfast or you’ll be late for school, you little rascal.”  
Peter said and ruffled his hair.  
Neal reluctantly continued to eat his cereal, making a mental note that when Mozzie woke up, he would ask him how to become a better liar.

The school seemed so much bigger, and much scarier than it had been when he went to visit it. The last time he had only been there for a short time, and Elizabeth had been right inside but now he would be there for hours and he would be all alone, surrounded by strangers.  
“You ready, kid?”  
Neal adverted his eyes from the school and looked at Peter and Elizabeth, they looked way more excited about this than he felt.  
He shook his head but the adults just insisted that it would be fine before they all got out of the car.  
Neal grabbed Peter’s hand and then Elizabeth’s, walking between the adults.  
There were several kids out playing and he could already recognize some of them from when he was at the school last.  
Despite the fact that the others kids seemed friendly, Neal had been more or less isolated from other kids his entire life and the thought of spending hours with them felt absolutely terrifying.  
He stopped abruptly, causing the adults to stop as well and look down at him.  
“What if you forget to pick me up after school?”  
They both just laughed at that and promised they wouldn’t forget, but their words did nothing to calm him down.  
“What if something happens to Mozzie and you forget to tell me?”  
Peter let go of his hand and instead crouched down in front of him.  
“If something happens to Mozzie, you will be the first one to know.”  
Neal felt that he should be comforted by his words, but it didn’t help at all.  
“What if they don’t like me?”  
He then asked, his voice much quieter this time.  
“Oh sweetie, they will love you.”  
Elizabeth said and Peter immediately agreed with her.  
“I’m still scared.”  
He admitted, hanging his head in shame. He didn’t want anyone to think of him as a little crybaby, he wanted to be strong and brave.  
“Honey, it’s okay to be scared, they were all scared their first days as well.”  
“I remember that I was really scared my first day of school.”  
Peter added and Neal looked up at him in disbelief.  
“You were?  
Peter nodded and Neal felt slightly more confident, knowing that even a strong, brave FBI agent had been scared.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter and Elizabeth kept their brave faces on, and appeared as confident as they possibly could, even if they were just as scared as Neal was.  
Even if they had been the ones to decide that it was time for Neal to start school, it was hard leaving the child for several hours. They feared for his safety, even if they knew that both Keller and James were safely locked up and wouldn’t be out for a very long time.  
They were also afraid that that Neal would accidently hit his head again or something, so they told him probably a million times to be careful when he was playing on the playground.  
They kept smiling when they hugged the six-year-old for the last time before he walked into the classroom, and it wasn’t until they were back in the car that they let their smiles drop.  
Even if they had been the ones to decide that it was time for Neal to go to school, it was really hard for them to actually let him go. 

Peter dropped Elizabeth off before going to the bureau, they had decided to drive together today so that they both could be there to drop Neal off and then both come and pick him up.  
It was hard to focus on his work, since every time the phone rang he automatically thought that it was the school calling to say that Neal was missing or sick or something but they never called, which led to them believing that the kid had actually had a good day, at least until they came to the school and actually saw the kid.  
Neal was standing with some other kids and a teacher, and it was clear to everyone that he was in a really bad mood, it was like the anger radiated off him.  
Elizabeth got out of the car, and gave the boy a big smile that wasn’t returned.  
“Hi sweetie.”  
Neal ignored her greeting, instead he just passed her and jumped into the car, throwing his backpack on the seat before allowing Elizabeth to strap him in before crossing his arms.  
Elizabeth gave the teacher a questioning look but the teacher just shrugged, she didn’t seem to know why Neal was in a bad mood either.  
Elizabeth got back into the car and Peter shared a look with her before he turned and looked at Neal in the rearview mirror and decided to try his luck.  
“How was your day, bud?”  
“I hate school, it’s stupid and I’m never going back.”  
Neal answered and both of the adults had to hold back a groan.  
They had hoped that Neal would have a good time at a school, but apparently it had been the complete opposite and they didn’t even want to imagine the struggle they would have to get Neal to school tomorrow, if he was serious about not wanting to go back.  
They stayed silent for the rest of the ride, hoping that Neal would cool off but no such luck.  
He was still angry when they got out of the car and when they made it inside the boy threw his backpack, just narrowly missing Satchmo, who gave the youngest human a confused look.  
Peter grabbed the angry boy before he got the chance to storm off and forced eye contact.  
“Listen, I don’t care how angry you are, you do not throw things like that. Did you see how close you were to hitting Satchmo?”  
Neal at least had the decency to look a little guilty about almost hurting the dog.  
“Now, do you want to tell us what’s bothering you?”  
Peter tried with a calm voice but was yet again met by anger from Neal as he grumbled a no.  
“Well if you won’t talk to us, then maybe you should go and do your homework.”  
Peter could sense that the kid was about to protest, so he decided to use his leverage while he still could.  
“How about you go do your homework and then we’ll go see Mozzie, alright?”  
Neal spent a few seconds weighing his options before he reluctantly grabbed his backpack and went to the kitchen table to sit and do the homework.  
The adults barely had the time to breathe before they heard Neal groan in frustration and they had just walked into the room when a notebook came flying, landing by their feet.  
Peter picked it up and walked over to the boy while he silently wonder where in the world this anger came from.  
He placed the book on the table before crouching down next to Neal’s chair.  
“I told you not to throw things.”  
Peter said but Neal ignored him completely, instead he just crossed his arms and pouted.  
“I think we shouldn’t visit Mozzie today after all.”  
At least that got a reaction out of the boy who suddenly made his best to look like an innocent little puppy.  
“I’m sorry, I wanna visit Mozzie, please.”  
“I’m sorry Neal but I just told you not to throw things, and then you went ahead and did it anyway. There’s consequences for your actions, kiddo.”  
Peter had expected Neal to get upset over not being allowed to visit his friend, but he hadn’t at all expected for the kid to actually get aggressive.  
Neal reached out and gave Peter a hard shove, almost sending him off balance, before calling him stupid.  
Elizabeth, who had been watching the scene quietly, walked over to the table and grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and placed it in the corner before lifting the boy and plopping him down on the chair in the corner.  
“You’re going to quietly sit here and you’re not going to move until you’re ready to behave, understood?”  
Elizabeth used that voice that could scare the living daylights out of anyone, even Peter.  
Neal made the smart choice of nodding and Elizabeth walked over to Peter, who was still crouching by the chair, too shocked by the unexpected aggressiveness to move.  
“You okay, hon?”  
Peter nodded and got up before Elizabeth gently stroke his arm. 

Neal sat quietly on the chair and it wasn’t until one hour later, when Elizabeth and Peter had started to cook dinner, that the kid finally felt that he could leave the chair.  
He quietly apologized to both Peter and Satchmo before he walked over to the couch.  
Since Neal had calmed down they tried to ask him what had made him so angry but he refused to answer their questions.  
The adults felt completely helpless, and they couldn’t stop wondering what had happened in school that upset the boy so much


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another long wait, I’m still struggling with my mental health at the same time a lot of things are going on in my life but I will try to update sooner next time.  
> As always thanks for all the comments/kudos it always makes me very happy.  
> All mistakes are still mine.
> 
> I also want to say woah 30 chapters, I never thought that I would write that many chapters or that people would like to read that much.   
> It’s been almost a year since I posted this story and I almost didn’t even post it because I was afraid of getting negative comments and people not liking it, but I’ve gotten nothing but positivity from you so thank you very much and thank you for reading :)

Neal walked into the classroom, trying to appear more confident than he was and just hoped that the insecurities would disappear so that he would be able to relax.   
That hope of having a good day was shattered by the first recess when the other kids wouldn’t even go near him.   
He sat down alone on a swing, believing that his classmates didn’t like him, but then towards the end od the recess, a girl sat down on the swing next to him.   
The girl was nervous and kept looking over her shoulder as she informed him that they were simply not allowed to play with him, not until he was “approved”.  
As it turns out there was one kid in their class who saw himself as the leader and everyone else as followers, and if you dared to go against him then you would become a social outcast.  
The thought of being left out of the playing seemed to have scared all of his classmates into submissiveness because every single one of them seemed to treat him like a king.   
The boy’s name was Curtis Hagen, a big, strong kid who was a year older than his classmates.   
Neal first spotted him over by the monkey bars, seemingly tormenting a boy who fitted perfectly into the nerd stereotype, with his small, scrawny body and big, bulky glasses.  
He felt sorry for the boy and was just thinking about doing something to help him, when a bell rand signaling that recess was over.

Neal got to meet the kid Curtis had been tormenting when they happened to be paired up to solve some math problems together.  
The other kid, who’s named was Jacob, seemed very smart which Neal guessed was a reason to why the teacher had paired them up together.   
Neal quietly admitted to Jacob that he couldn’t read or write and that he didn’t know much about math either.   
He had expected that the smart kid would laugh at him, but instead Jacob just became eager to help him, not only to understand the math but to help him read some of the words.  
Neal found that the math was easy, once he got the hang of it, and together the two boys managed to complete their assignment long before the rest of the class which gave them some time to get to know each other.   
They talked about their interests and their families, Jacob said that he had 5 siblings which sounded like a lot of siblings, especially to Neal who didn’t even have one, while Neal just briefly told him that he lived with foster parents and spent more time talking about Satchmo.  
Neal didn’t want to go into details about why he was living with foster parents, and luckily Jacob didn’t ask either.   
Eventually Neal managed to steer their conversation to Curtis Hagen, and as soon as he mentioned the name, Jacob’s eyes filled with fear.   
“Why don’t anyone tell the teacher?”  
Neal asked, he was sure that Mrs. Fisher would help put an end to Curtis Hagen’s dictatorship and if they all came together, there were no way Curtis could say that he wasn’t controlling the other students.  
Jacob however didn’t like that plan and shook his head.   
“He’s the principal’s son and she would defend him.”  
Neal frowned, wondering how a principal that was supposed to care about all the students could put their own kid in front of all the other kids.   
Although maybe it wasn’t that strange, after all Neal was no stranger to adults not doing what was right.   
“Our old classmate Caleb told the principal that Curtis was being mean and the principal kicked him out of school!”  
Jacob exclaimed, sounding absolutely terrified.   
Neal’s first thought was that it was a lie that Curtis had told in order to scare the other kids away from telling any adult about what was going on behind their backs.  
Even if he did suspect that the story was fake, the thought of getting kicked out of school started to scare him too.  
He didn’t even want to begin to imagine what Peter and Elizabeth would say, and the more he thought about, the more scared he became about getting kicked out and how his foster parents would react to that.   
Curtis Hagen had managed to get into his head and he hadn’t even met the kid yet.

Neal got the “pleasure” to meet the bully at lunch when Curtis put his leg out in front of Neal, causing him to trip and spill his glass of milk all over himself.  
“Oh, I’m so sorry are you okay?”  
The kid asked, sounding so genuine that if Neal hadn’t known what a bully he was, then he might have believed his apology.   
“You’re Neal, right? The stupid kid?”  
Neal didn’t answer him, instead he just avoided to look at any of the other kids while he tried to not get affected by the bully’s words.  
“Is that why your real parents didn’t want you? Because you’re so stupid?”  
Neal froze, how did Curtis know about him being a foster kid?  
He didn’t believe that Mrs. Fisher would have told anyone and no one else knew except for the other staff members and Jacob.   
Neal looked around the room and his eyes landed on Jacob, who was sitting at another table and the guilty look on his face confirmed his fear that it was Jacob that had told Curtis both about his struggles with reading and writing, as well as him having foster parents.  
The realization really hurt, because Neal had actually started to believe that he and Jacob could be friends, but now the kid had given Curtis reasons to pick on Neal to get the target off his own back.   
Jacob had appeared to be Curtis’ favourite plaything but now it looked like Neal could be taking over that role.  
“I bet your foster parents pity you because you're a stupid, little kid that no one loves.”  
The other kids at the table laughed loudly and Neal got up from his seat, just at Curtis asked the other kids how long they thought it would take for his foster parents to dump him.  
Those last words struck him hard, especially since it was still a very real fear he had.   
Neal hurried out of the cafeteria, almost colliding with his teacher.  
“Are you alright, Neal?”  
Mrs. Fisher asked with a concerned voice and Neal almost caved, he wanted to tell her everything they said to him, he wanted her to fix this but Jacob's words repeated in his head and he didn't dare to be a snitch.  
“I'm fine. I just need to go to the bathroom.”  
He answered before walking to the nearest bathroom, where he sank down to the floor and let the tears fall.   
It was in that moment Neal knew that he hated school and that he really hated other children.

By the time school ended, his sadness had turned into pure fury.   
He didn't want to be angry, especially not at Peter and Elizabeth, but he had a hard time pushing his anger away.   
No matter how hard he tried, the day's events kept repeating in his head.  
After lunch, several students had made fun of him by calling him stupid and talk about him being an unwanted child, even Jacob had laughed and called him an idiot when he knew that Curtis could hear him.   
“How was your day, bud?”  
Peter interrupted his thoughts with a simple, innocent question but no matter how hard he tried to answer in a calm way, the anger was stronger than he could handle.   
“I hate school it's stupid and I'm never going back.”  
He answered and he really meant those words.   
There was just no way that he would return tomorrow and put up with his classmates again.   
He hated school, he hated that stupid Curtis Hagen, he hated the other kids for being just as mean, but most of all he hated himself for ever getting his hopes up and believing that school could ever be a good thing.   
He wished that he could tell Peter and Elizabeth everything but he knew that the other kids would all deny it and defend their leader, not out of loyalty but out of fear, and the principal would defend her son and, in the end, he would just come out looking like a big liar.   
The quiet ride home did nothing to calm him down, instead he kept obsessively replaying every single mean word over and over.   
As he got inside, he angrily threw his backpack and almost hit Satchmo who had come to greet them.   
He didn't regret throwing the backpack but he did regret not looking where he threw it.   
Peter grabbed him and started to scold him for throwing his backpack before suggesting that he should do his homework.   
That suggestion made Neal even angrier, why didn't they listen to him?  
He wasn't going back to that stupid school and he was just about to remind them when Peter managed to press just the right button.   
Neal wanted to visit Mozzie and make sure that he was okay, and if that meant doing his homework first then it was a price he had to pay.  
So, he grabbed the backpack and walked over to the kitchen table before picking up his homework. Neal immediately hit a bump when he couldn't read his assignment, he could recognize a few of the words but not enough to understand the big picture.  
He could ask one of the adults for help, they wouldn't mind and they wouldn't laugh at him like the kids did.   
“I bet your foster parents pity you because you're a stupid, little kid that no one loves.”  
Curtis Hagen's words repeated in his head and then he could hear the children's laughter.   
Tears formed in his eyes while his mind kept replaying the sounds and then all of a sudden, a new voice entered his head.   
It was his father telling him how stupid and worthless he was.   
He looked down at the assignment again, he couldn't even understand a simple instruction, and he realized that they were all right. He was stupid.   
Neal grabbed his notebook and flung it across the room, hoping that it would make all the voices stop taunting him.  
“I told you not to throw things.”  
Peter suddenly said, startling Neal a little since he had been too occupied with his own thoughts to notice the man's presence.   
Neal crossed his arms and pouted, hoping that if he ignored the agent then he would just sigh and walk away, leaving Neal alone but instead things just got worse.   
“I think we shouldn't visit Mozzie today after all.”  
Peter's words broke through the cloud of anger that surrounded him and he immediately flashed his puppy eyes.  
“I'm sorry, I wanna visit Mozzie, please.”  
He pleaded, and he promised himself that he was going to supress his anger and try his best to behave and be happy, he was going to do everything to be able to see Mozzie.  
“I'm sorry Neal but I just told you not to throw things, and then you went ahead and did it anyway. There's consequences for your actions, kiddo.”  
It took a couple of seconds for his words to really sink in, but once it did all his rage found a new target and he just exploded.   
“You're stupid!”  
Neal said, using the word thrown at him all day long, and pushed Peter as hard as he could.   
For a second, he felt good, he felt powerful but those feelings quickly faded as he realized that Peter didn't deserve his rage.   
He should show his rage towards to his father, towards Curtis Hagen, and the other kids, they were the ones that deserved it, not Peter.  
Neal didn't get a chance to apologize before he was lifted off his chair and placed on another one.   
“You're going to sit here and you're not going to move until you're ready to behave, understood?”  
The tone of Elizabeth's voice caused chills to go through his body, his own anger was nothing compared to the anger Elizabeth radiated.   
Neal didn't dare to even think about what would happen if you defied her when she used that voice, so he just nodded.   
He looked back at Peter, just to be sure that he hadn't been hurt by Neal's push, before his gaze went back to the corner, where it stayed for over an hour as Neal battled all of the million thoughts in his head. 

The next day, Neal did his very best to avoid going back to school.   
He begged them, he tried to bribe them, he tried to play the sick card again and when nothing else worked he threw an epic tantrum.   
Despite all of his efforts, he found himself strapped in the car seat, kicking and screaming while Peter, who had gotten the daunting task of driving him to school, looked like he could kill someone.  
They stopped outside the school way too soon, and Peter told him that he would drop him off even if he was crying and screaming.   
His words made him stop, mainly because things would get so much worse if the other kids saw him throwing a tantrum like a little kid.   
“Please Peter, can I go to work with you instead? I will be really good.”  
He begged for the thousand time that morning but it didn't work this time either, instead the man just sighed heavily.   
“You have to go to school, Neal.”  
Neal looked at the school and nodded solemnly, finally coming to the realization that he had no other choice.  
“Is there something wrong, bud?”  
Peter asked the same question that they had asked over and over again since yesterday afternoon and Neal answered the same way he had all of the times, with a shake of his head.   
“Is someone being mean to you, Neal?”  
Peter tried, but yet again Neal shook his head and the agent gave up on trying to understand Neal's hatred of school.  
They got out of the car and Peter gave him a quick hug and a kiss on top of his head before he told him to have a good day.   
Neal walked towards the school building, but it felt more like he was forced to walk the plank and that he soon would fall into the dark, cold water.  
He spotted Curtis Hagen standing by the door, surrounded by some of his minions and as soon as Neal saw his cunning smile, he knew that this day was going to be so much worse than yesterday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea was partly inspired by Hagen and Neal’s relationship in season 5 but also from that king Bob character from the Disney channel show Recess.   
> I didn’t come up with any other idea so I went with this and I do hope that it’s not too unrealistic.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to get another chapter together despite all the things going on right now, kudos to me :P  
> As always thanks for the comments/kudos, it’s a big motivator and reading the comments are always the best part of uploading a new chapter, so thank you!
> 
> I had several ideas for this chapter and I lost count on how many times I have rewritten it, I am not completely satisfied with this but it was the best of the options but hopefully it will be okay.
> 
> Also, it was pointed out to me that I had completely forgot about the whole getting help with reading/writing thing so I squeezed that in this chapter.   
> I chose the option I was familiar with, my school had this option and my best friend went there so I kinda knows how it works with that option.

While their classmates had an English lesson, Neal and four other students were sent to a smaller classroom where a teacher would give them the extra help that they needed for their various struggles.   
At first Neal wasn’t fond of the idea, partly because he felt even more stupid when he had to have a special teacher but also because he was very skeptical of the other kids.  
After the day he had yesterday, he simply didn’t like other kids and didn’t think that they were anything but cruel.  
It didn’t take too long for him to change his mind though; the teacher was really kind and it was clear that she had experience with struggling children.  
When the teacher was busy with another student, the other kids were quick to help him if they could, because they had all been where he was.   
By the end of the lesson his self-confidence had been restored, he had felt like everyone else were so much smarter and better than him and that he was the only one who was struggling, but now he knew for sure that it wasn’t the case.  
He even managed to bond with the other kids, and his opinion about other kids had changed as well.   
Neal left the room feeling great, but of course he wasn’t allowed to feel good for long.  
Curtis Hagen was leaning against the wall outside their classroom, looking like he had been waiting for Neal.  
The kid immediately started to insult him for needing a special teacher, but Neal was determined to not get affected by it, at least he was until one of his new-found friends walked by.   
The girl had tears in her eyes, clearly upset by Curtis’ words, even if they weren’t directed at her.   
Curtis seemed to notice it too and in a swift movement he did the same thing he had done to Neal yesterday, he put his leg out and sent the poor girl to the floor and the papers she was carrying in her arms was sent flying.   
Neal glared at Curtis before helping the girl collect the papers while Hagen just laughed like a madman.   
It was a combination of Curtis’ being mean to the girl, his own hurt and Hagen’s endless laughter that caused yesterday’s rage to return and without thinking, Neal pushed Curtis to the ground.   
It felt so much better than he could he could ever have imagined, and for a second, he believed that he had won over the bully until Hagen started to cry loudly, almost screaming.   
It didn’t take long for Mrs. Fisher to appear and ask Curtis what had happened.   
“HE PUSHED ME!”  
Curtis wailed, pointing his finger at Neal, who quickly looked at the girl for some sort of help but she kept her head down, too scared of the bully to help.  
“Is that what happened?”  
Mrs. Fisher asked the girl, and she nodded before giving Neal an apologetic look.  
The teacher turned to Neal with a stern look on his face, and he avoided her eyes.  
Tears started to burn in his eyes when he saw the smirk on Curtis’ face and he realized that he hadn’t won at all.   
Instead of standing up to a bully, he had simply gotten himself into trouble and that meant that the teacher would tell Elizabeth and Peter.  
His stomach hurt when he thought of how disappointed they would be.   
Neal felt like a cornered animal, and in lack of a better option, he followed his impulse and pushed past the teacher before running out of the school as fast as he possibly could.  
It was simply what he did, if you boxed him in then he would run if he could.  
He knew that running was an incredibly stupid decision, but for the moment it felt better than facing the anger and the disappointment.  
At first he thought about running home, but that would be the first place they would look.   
He then remembered that he had someone who was an expert on being in trouble, or rather an expert on getting out of it.   
Of course, that person was also still unconscious in a hospital bed, but it would never hurt to try.

Neal stopped at the closest bus stop, and he didn’t have to wait long before the bus arrived.   
He looked up at the bus driver and asked him if it went to the hospital Mozzie was in.  
“I’m sorry kid, it doesn’t”  
Neal responded by letting out a few crocodile tears that quickly turned into sobs, which caused the passengers on the bus to stare at the bus driver as if he had done something to make the child cry.  
“This bus go to the central station, from there you can take a bus to the hospital okay?”  
Neal nodded and he was told to find a seat, without even being asked about paying for a ticket.   
An elderly lady offered him a seat next to him, and she entertained him the entire ride to the station, before accompanying him on the bus to the hospital.  
Finally the bus stopped at the hospital and he said goodbye to the kind lady before thanking the bus driver for the ride, just like his mother had always done, before he got off the bus and walked into the hospital.  
Neal had visited Mozzie so many times now that he had no trouble finding his way to his friend’s room.   
One of the nurses stopped him before he made it into the room, giving him a worried look since she didn’t see Peter or Elizabeth around.   
“Hey, sweetie. Are you here alone?”  
She asked in a gentle, worried tone and Neal shook his head.   
“Are you mommy or daddy here?”  
“Yes, in the bathroom.”  
He answered and the nurse immediately looked calmer now that she thought that he wasn’t unsupervised.  
She let him go into Mozzie’s room and once there he did what he always did, he sat down on the chair next to the bed and grabbed the man’s hand before begging him to wake up.  
At first his begging was solely focused on Mozzie waking up so he could ask for advice, but as the time passed and his friend still hadn’t woken up, the troubles from school disappeared from his mind and was replaced by fear and sadness.  
Even if everyone kept telling him that Mozzie would wake up and be just fine, he wouldn’t stop fearing for the opposite until it actually happened.   
“Please, Mozzie you have to wake up.”  
Neal begged and squeezed his hand tight, hoping to suddenly get a squeeze back.  
“I need you, Mozzie.”  
He continued and then he started to sob, he wanted his begging to work but they never did, it didn’t matter what he said, Mozzie couldn’t hear him.  
A low sound broke through his sobbing, and he went as quiet as he could.   
The sound was repeated and this time he heard it clear enough to hear that it was a groan, and it was coming from Mozzie.   
Just to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming again, he pinched his arm but thankfully he didn’t wake up.   
“Neal?”  
Mozzie’s voice was barely audible and it sounded hoarse and gravelly.  
“I’m here, Mozzie!”  
He called out while squeezing, and he was rewarded by Mozzie’s eyelids slowly opening and revealing two blue eyes.  
Mozzie smiled while his eyes watered, something that confused Neal until he realized that Mozzie got shot when he was still kidnapped and the man hadn’t known if Neal was alright or not.   
That thought brought back the guilt that he felt, the guilt that had haunted his dreams.  
Mozzie tried to say something else but instead he started to cough violently and Neal got scared, remembering his dream where Mozzie had coughed blood until he died.  
Neal slammed the button to alert the nurse, before looking at Mozzie, begging that he wouldn’t start coughing blood.   
“He woke up!”  
Neal exclaimed when the nurse arrived, even if the coughing fit made that fairly obvious.   
“Is he okay?”  
He asked but was just told to sit down and wait while the nurse performed some simple tests.   
Neal did what he was told, and anxiously watched as the nurse checked Mozzie’s sight, hearing and memory before asking him some questions about how he was feeling.   
“I will have a doctor in here to take a closer look but your friend seems to be alright.”  
The nurse told Neal before she gave Mozzie some ice chips, which would be easier for him to get down than water, and she even gave one to Neal, who quickly spit it out, not liking the coldness in his mouth.   
When the nurse had left the room, Neal got up from the chair and climbed up in the bed before he carefully snuggled up to Mozzie’s side.  
“You’re gonna be okay, Mozzie.”  
Neal informed him, as if he hadn’t been in the room when the nurse told him.   
Mozzie just responded by a weak pat on Neal back.   
“Mozzie are you mad at me?”  
“Why would I?”  
His voice was still low and rough but he could talk a little louder now at least.   
“You got shot because I was stupid enough to get kidnapped.”  
Mozzie got a stern look on his face, and Neal feared that Mozzie would get really mad at him, just like in his nightmare but instead he got the exact opposite.  
“If I ever hear you blaming yourself again, I’ll feed you to Bugsy.”  
Mozzie said before starting to cough again while Neal giggled at the mental image he got of Mozzie trying to get the small pug to eat him.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again people!  
> I'm sorry for the late update, I started to write this chapter a long time ago but I never had the motivation to finish it.   
> Long story short (and without bothering you with my problems), I just wanted to say that I am in a pretty bad place mentally right now and I'm really struggling to see the meaning with everything, sadly that also includes that I'm not really seeing the point of me writing my fics.   
> That being said, I'm not going to give up on my fics but the updates may take longer depending on my mental state.   
> Motivating comments is appreciated but of course in no way necessary.

CHAPTER 32

It had been an absolutely exhausting morning.   
Both Peter and Elizabeth had hoped that a good night's sleep would get Neal in a better mood, but the boy had proved them wrong.   
Neal had started the day by trying every single trick in the book to avoid going to school, and when nothing had worked on them he had decided to throw an epic tantrum.  
The kid was throwing things, stomping his foot, crying and yelling loud enough to make the neighbours think that someone was being murdered.  
The worst part of it all was that it was pretty obvious that something had happened, and that he really didn't want to go back, but they had no way of helping him since he didn't want to tell them anything.   
Elizabeth had even snuck out of the room and phoned Mrs. Fisher, but the teacher hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary and as far as she was concerned everything had been well yesterday.  
They had no way of knowing if there was really an issue or if Neal was just trying to con them, so they decided to take him to school and hoped that maybe the realization that he would have to go back would make him speak up.   
Since Elizabeth had an early meeting, Peter got the absolute joy of driving the kicking and screaming child to school, and he didn't know how many times he had to stop himself from yelling at the boy and instead calm himself down by counting to ten.   
He had to remind himself several times that this was one of the aspects of taking care of a child, you couldn't always get the good parts.   
Neal was still yelling, at least the kid had a good set of lungs, when they arrived at the school and apparently it was heard outside too based on the sympathetic look a mother gave him when she passed their car.  
“Neal I will drop you off even if you're going to continue screaming.”  
Peter informed him and it was like turning off a switch, Neal went from full on temper tantrum to dead quiet in a second.  
“Please Peter, can I go to work with you instead? I will be really good.”  
“You have to go to school, Neal.”  
Even if he wasn't too fond of leaving Neal in a place he didn't like, he couldn't bring the child to the bureau everyday either.   
Neal needed his education and Peter needed to be able to work without any distractions.  
He looked back at the kid and saw the sadness in his eyes and he tried to yet again figure out what the problem was and if there was someone being mean to the poor child, but Neal just kept shaking his head.   
The clock was ticking and he had to give up on the interrogation for now if he didn't want to be late.   
He hugged the child and placed a gentle kiss on top of his head before sending him off to the school, Neal didn't say goodbye instead the kid just walked over to the building, looking like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

Peter was flipping through a folder, reading up on their latest case, when his phone rang.   
He didn't even check the number, instead he just answered absentmindedly while reading about the valuable jewelries that had been stolen from a museum.   
As soon as he heard Mrs. Fisher's voice, and the urgency in it, though the case was the last thing on his mind.  
Mrs. Fisher started to nervously ramble but every single word she said after “Neal ran away” fell on deaf ears.   
She was still talking but he couldn't focus, it was like the whole world had just stopped and he felt his entire body go limp with fear.  
The thought of the little boy being God knows where, all alone and possibly hurt made him want to cry and throw up at the same time.   
His mind suddenly imagined a scenario where Keller or James had kidnapped him again.   
The thoughts were irrational, he knew that, both James and Keller were safely locked away, something he double checked every single day, but that didn't calm him down at all.   
James and Keller were far from the only people that was capable of kidnapping or hurting an innocent child.  
The thought of Neal being snatched away from them again scared the living daylight out of him and he knew that he had to find Neal as fast as possible.

Peter didn't even bother knocking before he rushed inside the residence of June Ellington.  
He had called Elizabeth on the way here and she had immediately left her meeting to go and check the house, while Peter had hoped that the kid would go to the same place he had when he ran away the first time.   
“Please tell that Neal is here.”  
“I'm afraid he's not.”  
June showed him a genuine worry, and he believed her.   
He didn't think that she would hide him like she had done the last time.   
If Neal wasn't here, then where else would he go?  
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he felt incredibly stupid for not thinking of it before.   
Of course, Neal would try to find his way to the hospital, especially since yesterday's visit had been cancelled.

Peter ran through the hospital halls, almost colliding with several people.   
Some of them yelled angrily after him but he didn't listen to them, he didn't care about anything but finding Neal.   
One of Mozzie's nurses saw him and walked towards him but he didn't even bother to greet her, instead he just rushed into the hospital room where he saw the runaway boy curled up under Mozzie's arm.  
He couldn't say anything, he was afraid to say something because then he might breakdown, so he just walked over to the hospital bed and picked the boy up.   
Peter hugged Neal tightly to his chest, and the kid hesitated a bit before he hugged back.  
After a minute or two the boy pulled back and looked at the agent.   
“Peter are you okay?”  
“No I am not okay!”  
He answered, and Neal flinched at his raised voice.  
Peter took a deep breath to calm himself down, because now that he had Neal in his arms and knew that he was safe and unharmed, the anger came.  
Neal decided to change the subject and pointed at the bed.   
Peter looked over at the bed and noticed for the first time since entering the room that the man was actually awake, he still looked like death warmed over but he was awake.  
“Look Peter, look! Mozzie is awake!”  
Mozzie flinched at Neal's way too loud voice but the boy didn't seem to notice how tired Mozzie was.   
“Neal, I think we should let Mozzie sleep now.”  
“But he just woke up!”  
Neal argued, not wanting to leave Mozzie now that the man had finally woken up.   
“I know but his body is still tired, okay?”  
Neal didn't look happy at all but he finally agreed to let him sleep and Mozzie gave Peter a thankful smile before he, now free from the loud and excited child, could fall asleep again.  
Once in the hallway, Peter led them over to a couple of chairs where they sat down, and he could notify his wife that Neal was safe before he started to talk to him.   
“Neal you are not allowed to run away from school like that.”  
“I'm sorry but it's good that I did because I was here when Mozzie woke up.”  
The boy didn't sound sorry at all, he just sounded happy about the coincidence and it was as if he didn't understand the seriousness of the situation at all.  
“Neal you shouldn't have left school all on your own like that.”  
“I used to be alone before, remember?”  
“Yes but that wasn't okay Neal. You should always have an adult with you, you're just a child and anything could have happened to you.”  
“But I'm fine Peter.”  
Peter had to pause and take a deep breath in order to not start yelling at the kid for having such a nonchalant attitude.   
Getting angry wouldn't help the situation at all, it would probably just make it so much worse, so instead he tried to calmly make Neal understand.   
“Neal you ran away before and you've been kidnapped twice. Our first thought wasn't that you were fine, our first thought was that someone was going to hurt you again. Elizabeth and I were really worried about you, pal”  
Peter could see the exact second that it Neal and he really understood what he had done and how it had affected them.   
“I'm sorry, I didn't think I just ran.”  
“Why did you run?”  
Neal went dead quiet and when Peter repeated the question Neal just shook his head.   
Peter sighed when he realized that the kid was going to be silent yet again, and he made a mental note to call his teacher later and actually listen to her words this time.  
“Come on, we have to go home and prove to Elizabeth that you're alive.”  
Neal gave him a small smile before he got up from the chair and grabbed Peter's hand.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again people!  
> I just want to say thanks for the comments/kudos and especially thanks to the support I have gotten, it's amazing how some strangers on the internet can really brighten up my day so thanks.   
> A couple of weeks ago I moved to my very own aparment which is both good cause it gives me the peace and quiet I need for my writing but it has also been really bad for my mental health.   
> On a more positive note, I'm getting a cat this Saturday (a cat that happens to be one of the kittens our family cat gave birth too) and I'm really excited for his arrival.   
> I'm also very inspired in general right now so I'm hoping to update this story again in maybe a week or so.   
> Okay I'm going to stop ramble about my life so you can read the story.   
> Thanks for reading :)

CHAPTER 33

Elizabeth was sitting by the kitchen table, sobbing loudly with her head in her hands, when they arrived to the house.   
If Neal hadn't understood how his impulsive action had affected them before, he certainly did now that he could see the state Elizabeth was in.   
She seemed to have missed their arrival judging by the way she jumped a little when the guilty looking Neal placed a gentle hand on her arm.   
When Elizabeth realized who it was, she lifted the boy onto her lap and hugged him so tightly to her chest that he could barely breathe.   
“If you ever run away like that again, I will lock you up and throw away the key.”  
Peter knew his wife well enough to know that she would honor that promise and he hoped that Neal realized that too, for his own good.  
While Elizabeth was squeezing all the air of the boy, Peter walked outside to make a phone call to Mrs. Fisher.   
He desperately wanted to know what had happened in school to cause Neal to run away like that.   
Peter hoped that if he knew the reason then he could prevent it from happening again, even if he had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time Neal would act on his impulse and run away.   
He made a mental note to remind his wife about his previous suggestion to put a tracking anklet on the kid, because that would certainly save them from having more scares like this.

It was hard to believe that Mrs. Fisher was telling the truth and he asked her if she was sure about a million times, simply because it didn't sound like Neal at all.   
Apart from pushing Peter when he was really upset, Neal had never been one for violence.   
He had actually been the opposite, he had shied away from violence and Peter could clearly remember the child feeling uncomfortable with the violence in some cartoon he was watching.   
This was most likely because of his life with James and therefore Peter had a hard time believing that Neal had pushed another kid for no reason at all.   
According to the boy that had been pushed and a girl that had witnessed the incident, the action had been entirely unprovoked but Peter believed that if Neal had indeed pushed the kid, it must have been for a good reason.   
Of course, most parents was probably thinking that if their child did something bad that it must have been for a good reason.   
Peter returned inside where Neal was sitting on the chair while Elizabeth was in the kitchen, drinking some water.   
The agent sat down on the opposite side of the table and looked at the boy.  
“Your teacher told me that you pushed another boy in school today, is that true?”  
He asked, determined to hear Neal's side of the story, especially since he ran away before Mrs. Fisher even got the chance to hear it.   
The change in Neal was clear, his gaze found it's way down while his shoulders slumped.  
“Yes.”  
Neal mumbled, barely audible and Peter was very disappointed that it was true.   
Elizabeth had put down her glass and was now leaning against the kitchen counter and listening to their conversation.  
“Why did you push him, bud?”  
The boy looked up at him and he could see it in his eyes, that he wanted to say something really badly.   
That look confirmed that there was indeed a reason behind it, but yet again he decided to keep it a secret.  
“No reason.”  
“Are you sure there wasn't a reason?”  
Neal just nodded and Peter had to hold back a sigh.   
It was beyond frustrating to know that something was wrong with Neal and not knowing what it was and therefore being unable to make it better.  
Peter looked up at Elizabeth and could see by the worried look on her face that she was thinking about the same thing as he did.  
“Alright pal, why don't you sit in the corner while Elizabeth and I talk this through?!  
Peter had hoped that being sent to time-out and knowing that they would be talking about a potential, additional punishment would scare the boy into talking but Neal just dragged one of the kitchen chairs over to the corner and sat down.   
Elizabeth walked over to Peter before looking at Neal and sighing softly.   
“Something is wrong here.”  
She pointed out in a low voice and he just nodded to show that he agreed.   
“How are we supposed to send him back tomorrow?”  
Elizabeth then wondered and he could understand her worries.   
How were they supposed to drop the child off at school again and not fear that he would return with a really bad mood, get into some altercation with another student or run away again?

Peter sat down on the couch, next to his beautiful wife, after they had tucked Neal into bed, an hour earlier than usual.   
They had gone easy on him and only given him early bedtime for a week and a lecture as consequences for pushing his classmate and then running away.  
Elizabeth was looking at the TV but her mind seemed to be somewhere else.  
He put his arm around her shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.   
“What's on your mind, hon?”  
“I've been thinking.”  
She answered and he recognized her tone of voice as the one she always used when she was going to propose an idea that she wasn't sure he would like.   
“About?”  
He asked while silently hoping that it wasn't something crazy like getting another kid, they already had their hands full with the one they had.   
“Maybe we should adopt Neal.”  
Elizabeth said and Peter went quiet which caused her to panic a little.  
“It's just that today I realized how terrified I am of losing him and how much I love him. I want to have him with us forever and for us to be his parents forever. I thought that adoption would show Neal that we're permanent, that we won't leave him or get tired of him. Show him that we aren't like the foster parents that just wants money, we are parents who want him. But I mean we don't have to. I know you didn't really want to foster him in the beginning but-”  
“Elizabeth.”  
Peter managed to interrupt her nervous rambling.   
“I think it's a great idea, hon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that you don't thinkt that the whole adoption thing didn't seem to quick?  
> I have been thinking of it for a while and I thought that what better way to bring it up then this scare?


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I managed to actually get an update out in a week like I hoped :D  
> For those of you who wants to know I have a cat now, he's a longhaired white cat with the greenest eyes I've ever seen and his name is Tellus.   
> He is not a fan of my fics though because he always tries to stop me from writing them :P

CHAPTER 34

It was almost impossible for Neal to keep quiet about why he had pushed Curtis Hagen, partly because he wanted to avoid punishment, partly because he wanted justice but mostly because he didn't want Peter and Elizabeth to think that he was a bad kid who was being mean to other kids.  
The only thing that stopped him from telling them everything was the knowledge that they could think he was lying which could possibly land him in even more trouble and even if they did believe him, he would be alone while the rest of the class, out of fear, would side with the bully.   
So instead of spilling the beans he told them that he had pushed the bully for no reason at all.  
He didn't argue with them when he was sent to time-out, he just accepted it and spent the time trying to come up with a way to solve this problem on his own.  
Eventually he gave up, realizing that the only option, that didn't create a lot of extra trouble, was to just accept Curtis Hagen as his superior and hope that the bully would move on to some other poor kid soon, but that wasn't something that Neal was actually willing to do.   
He didn't want to solve this problem for his own sake, he wanted to help his classmates too and give them a better, safer school environment as well.

The next morning he didn't protest when it was time for him to go to school, he had learned the day before that his protests had no effect whatsoever and besides he felt like he had caused the adults enough trouble.  
Even if he didn't protest, he really didn't want to spend another day in school, especially since he feared that Curtis would be out for revenge.  
Once in school, he stayed close to the other students, hoping that safety in numbers would save him but at the end of the day he realized that the bully hadn't even tried to approach him, he had barely even looked his way and Neal was completely dumbfounded.  
Had he really managed to scare the bully?  
That thought put a smile on his face and he felt powerful because he had managed to stand up against his tormentor.  
When Elizabeth picked him up and asked him how his day had been, he could tell her that it had been okay and really mean it.   
The powerful feeling he felt didn't last long though because just the day after that Neal realized why Curtis had been staying away from him and it wasn't because he was scared of Neal, no it was because Mrs. Fisher was keeping an extra eye on both him and Curtis.  
The powerful feeling disappeared when he understood that he was living on borrowed time and as soon as Mrs. Fisher would stop monitoring them so closely or as soon as they were out of the adults' sight, Curtis would execute his revenge, Neal was sure of it.  
Not knowing what else to do, Neal decided to enjoy his borrowed time and never stray too far away from any adult.  
The rest of the week Curtis stayed away from him and with the target temporarily off his back he had the chance to actually make some friends and he got especially close to a girl named Sara.   
He was even invited over to her house on Friday afternoon, much to Elizabeth and Peter's delight since they had been worried that Neal wouldn't make any friends.   
It was probably the better school environment and his friendship with Sara that made it easy for him to ignore the fact that the Burkes had started to have a lot of whispered, secret conversations.  
Before he would have been really worried but now he found it easy to accept that they were having secret, adult conversations behind his back.

The weekend went by quickly, they spent most of their Saturday at the hospital, visiting Mozzie who was getting stronger and stronger for each day that passed and on Sunday they had brunch at June's house which gave the Burkes the opportunity to get to know June better while Satchmo and Bugsy met, immediately becoming best friends.  
Then Monday came and as Neal got dressed, he realized that he was truly looking forward to going to school.   
He left the guest room that he now considered his and walked towards the adults' bedroom but came to a halt when he heard Peter talking on the phone in a hushed voice.   
Neal knew that he shouldn't be eavesdropping but his curiosity got the best of him and he walked towards the door, careful not to make any sound that would give him away.  
At first the conversation didn't seem too interesting, Peter was reassuring someone that he and Elizabeth was sure that they wanted something, but then he completely froze as it was made clear that the person he was talking to was Neal's social worker.  
The boy could only come up with one explanation to the hushed conversation; Peter had been reassuring her that they were sure that they wanted to get rid off him.   
What other reason would he have to be talking to the social worker?  
The realization hurt, it hurt way more than he would have ever thought because they had promised him again and again that they weren't going to do this.   
Had they been tricking him all along or had they suddenly just changed their minds?  
The second option seemed more likely because their words had seemed so genuine.   
What if it was because he had pushed Curtis and ran away?  
Was it because they realized that he wasn't really a good kid?  
“Ready for breakfast, bud?”  
Neal jumped, having been too lost in his thoughts to notice that Peter had finished his phone call.  
“You okay, Neal?”  
Peter then asked when didn't receive any answer from the kid.   
“Yeah, I'm just tired.”  
“Well let's go get some food in you.”

Neal had hoped that he would at least have a good day in school but that hope died when he walked into the classroom and saw Sara.  
She was crying and he could understand why when he saw that the new dress that her grandma had made for her, the one that she had proudly showed him when he was over at her house, had a big mud stain on it.   
Mrs. Fisher was desperately trying to get the stain off but with no luck.   
“What happened?”  
Neal asked her and even if Sara didn't say anything, her angry look directed at Curtis Hagen told him all that he needed to know.   
He spent most of the class glaring at Curtis who kept grinning at him, and Neal couldn't help but to believe that the bully had gone after Sara because of him.  
As the class ended he planned on confronting the kid and make sure that he stayed away from Sara but his plans were foiled by Mrs. Fisher who asked him to stay behind.   
At first he feared that he would get the blame for Sara's ruined dress, even if he hadn't even been in school when it had happened, but luckily she just wanted to an update on how he felt about school since it had been a week since he started.   
Neal gave her a convincing smile and told her that everything was just great.   
Mrs. Fisher believed his lies and let him join the other kids outside.  
He looked around the playground, trying to spot Curtis or Sara but they were nowhere to be seen.   
Neal got a bad feeling about this and he knew that they were most likely over by the jungle gym, a place that Neal wanted to avoid.  
The jungle gym was a big blind spot for the teachers, not only because it was located at the edge of the playground but the two huge trees shadowing the jungle gym was obstructing their view.   
Neal walked over to it and as he had expected he saw Sara, Curtis and Curtis' friends.  
Sara was sitting in the net, trapped by Curtis and one of his friends since they were sitting on either side, making it impossible for Sara to get out of the net without jumping down or pass Curtis or his friend.   
“Come here, sweetheart.”  
Curtis called while Sara gave him a disgusted look.   
Neal was watching them, knowing that if he announced his presence it meant that Curtis could use this blind spot to get his revenge and Neal definitely didn't want that to happen but his friend was caught in between and if Neal didn't protect his friend then what kind of friend was he?  
“Leave her alone!”  
Neal demanded and Curtis turned to him, flashing him a huge grin before starting to climb out on the net, closing in on Sara.  
He couldn't let Curtis be mean to Sara so he climbed up the ladder and without even thinking he followed Curtis out on the net and pushed the boy, causing him to fall forward on the net.   
Everything after he did that happened so fast, one second he was on his way over to the ladder and in the next a hard shove in the back sent him falling to the ground.   
He heard a loud gasp and suddenly Sara was there, crouching next to him.   
“Neal, are you okay?”  
“I'm fine.”  
He answered before trying to get up but as he put weight on his right arm, he felt an incredible pain and he yelled out in agony.   
“Go get a teacher!”  
Sara told Curtis and his friends but apparently no one moved because she had to repeat herself.   
With the help of Sara, he sat up and cradled the aching arm to his chest.   
Curtis soon returned with Mrs. Fisher in tow and the teacher gently grabbed his arm and examined it.   
“Neal, I'm going to take you to the school nurse, okay?”  
Neal nodded before Mrs. Fisher helped him up and led him inside the building.

He didn't really listen to what the school nurse said, aside from the part where she told them that she believed that his wrist was broken, because he was still in shock.   
That shock lasted until he saw Elizabeth rushing inside the nurse's office and he burst into tears as Elizabeth put her arms around him, careful not to hurt him.   
In that moment he didn't think about the phone call he had overheard, he just pressed his face his face against Elizabeth's chest and inhaled the comforting scent belonging to the closest thing he had to a mother.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned to get this update written much earlier but then Sweden was given the hottest summer in over 200 years and my brain practically melted.   
> That being said any mistakes made is the weather’s fault :)
> 
> Also I was accepted into a writing course at the university and it’s thanks to my fanfiction writing, and all the motivating words from readers, that I had the motivation to apply to it so I just want to say a big thank you for giving me confidence in my writing :)

CHAPTER 35

Elizabeth and Peter made the decision to not tell Neal anything about wanting to adopt him.   
They decided to wait until the process were through, partly because they wanted it to be a surprise and partly because they didn't want to get his hopes up in case there was some problems along the way.   
They did feel a little bad about having their little secret conversations behind Neal's back, especially since they knew very well that the kid had trust issues.   
Luckily Neal didn't seem to take notice to their secret conversations because he seemed too busy just being a kid.   
The change had happened all of the sudden, one second, he was coming home from school upset, pushing other students and running away and then the next he came home from school wearing a big smile on his face and talking nonstop about what he and his friend Sara had done at school.   
Even if the change was very sudden and unexpected, it was more than welcome.   
Neal acted more like a normal child and apart from his constant nightmares, his troubles seemed to have been pushed away to the back of his mind.   
He even had a playdate with Sara, the little girl that the Burkes had only met once or twice but who, according to Neal's stories, was a wonderful little girl.

This positive change in Neal was the reason Elizabeth didn't at all expect to get a call from Mrs. Fisher.   
She was silently praying that it wasn't another call about Neal running away while picking up and trying not to sound too worried.   
The call was not at all about Neal running off, instead it was about the kid being in the nurse's office with a possible broken wrist that should be checked out at the hospital.  
Elizabeth promised the teacher to be there as fast as possible before telling Yvonne to handle their upcoming meeting.   
She jumped into the car and sped to the school while trying to get a hold of her husband.   
“Come on, Peter.”  
She begged as all of her calls went unanswered.   
She was worried out of her mind and she wanted her husband there to share the worry.   
Elizabeth soon arrived at the school where Mrs. Fisher showed her the way to the nurse's office where she saw the boy sitting on a bed, cradling his injured wrist.   
Neal looked so pale and so small and Elizabeth had to stop herself from crying.   
When he spotted her, he immediately burst into tears and Elizabeth hurried over to carefully throw her arms around him in a comforting embrace.   
She had a quick chat with the nurse before they left the school and drove to the hospital.  
Neal kept crying the whole way, which did absolutely nothing to calm her down, no it did quite the opposite.   
Elizabeth kept trying to reach Peter but all the calls kept going to voicemail.   
Of all the times he could have been unavailable, it had to be now?

Luckily there weren't too many people in the ER and they were quickly sent to the radiology unit.   
Elizabeth stopped outside the door and looked at the big sign clearly telling people to turn off their cellphones.   
She was planning on getting her phone and leave a voicemail for Peter but before she had the chance, Peter finally called her back and she let out a big sigh of relief.   
“What's wrong?”  
Her husband asked before she even had the chance to say hello.   
He sounded really worried which was very understandable, after all she wouldn't call so many times if it wasn't something important.   
“I'm at the hospital with Neal.”  
“What happened? Is he okay?”  
She could hear him shuffling in the background, most likely putting his suit jacket on.   
“He fell from the jungle gym and they think he's got a broken wrist. We're just about to head into x-ray.”  
“I'm on my way.”  
Elizabeth hung up, feeling slightly calmer now that she knew that her husband was on his way.   
She turned off her phone before walking inside with Neal, who was still quietly crying.   
“Do you want to go and play?”  
She asked him and gestured towards the corner of the waiting room that was meant for children.   
Elizabeth had hoped that the toys would cheer him up but the child shook his head and insisted on sitting in her lap.  
Elizabeth mumbled quiet, comforting words and stroked his hair while her heart was breaking from knowing that the sweet little boy was hurt and was in pain.   
“Neal.”  
They looked up as a kind looking nurse called his name and told them to come with her.   
They followed her into a room where Neal got to sit down while the nurse placed his injured wrist in the right position.   
“Mom, you can come with me.”   
The nurse said and Neal, who had stayed relatively calm for the past minutes, suddenly whimpered and grabbed Elizabeth's shirt.   
“I'm just leaving while they take the pictures, honey. I'm going to be right there in that room.”  
She told him and pointed towards the little room where another nurse was waiting to take the picture.  
“Can you sit here and be brave for just a little while?”  
Neal was quiet for a couple of seconds before he finally nodded and Elizabeth placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head before she followed the nurse into the little room.   
One of the nurses left the room a couple of times to place the wrist in different positions before they were finally done and were told to go back to the waiting room and wait for the results. 

The first thing Elizabeth saw when they walked out of the room was her husband pacing over by one of the couches, much to the annoyance of the other waiting patients.   
“Peter.”  
She called out and the agent rushed over to them, carefully picking up the six-year-old, who was holding a bright red lollipop in his hand.   
“Hey buddy.”  
Peter greeted in an affectionate voice while burrowing his nose in the child's brown locks and inhaling the coconut smell of his shampoo.   
“Were you brave in there?”  
He then asked when he saw the lollipop and the boy nodded proudly.   
Elizabeth smiled at her boys and thought, for the 100th time, that Peter was a really good father.   
“Hey hon, what did they say?”  
Peter asked while gently caressing her arm, a move that calmed her down significantly.   
“We have to wait a little while longer.”  
She answered and they walked over to one of the couches where they sat down, Peter with his arm wrapped around Elizabeth's shoulders and Neal snuggled up in his lap.   
It felt like they waited for an eternity before the kind looking nurse returned and told them to follow her to a room where a doctor showed them the x-rays.  
The boy's wrist was indeed broken just like the school nurse had thought, but at least it was a clean break that would heal just fine with the help of a cast.  
Elizabeth looked over at Neal, who was still in Peter's arms, and expected him to be fascinated by the x-ray but instead he was hiding his face in Peter's neck and refused to look even once.   
She, of course, wondered why the kid seemed almost afraid to look at it but she didn't have to wonder long.   
On their way home, with a cast on Neal's wrist and pain medication that had finally eased his pain, the boy revealed the reason.   
“I broke my arm once when daddy pushed me down the stairs.”  
Neal told them casually while the adults shared a sad look.   
No wonder he hadn't wanted to even look at the x-rays when it was yet another reminder of the horrible things James had done to the poor child. 

When they arrived home, they went upstairs and put Neal down for a nap since the kid was completely exhausted after today's events.   
Peter read a story to him while Elizabeth was stroking his hair until he seemed to have fallen asleep. They were just getting ready to leave when Neal opened his eyes again.   
“I'm not bad.”  
He mumbled sleepily and the adults shared a questioning look.   
“We know that sweetie, did someone say that you were?”  
“Please don't send me away.”  
It was always heartbreaking every time Neal's fear of abandonment manifested and Elizabeth really couldn't wait for them to adopt the kid so that he would finally understand that they wanted him now and forever.   
“Peter called social worker.”  
Neal mumbled and she saw how Peter looked guilty, her husband had called the social worker that morning to talk about details regarding their adoption plans but he had thought that the kid hadn't heard the call.   
“It was not about sending you away, bud. It was about...”  
Peter trailed off and met Elizabeth's eyes, were they going to tell the boy now and spoil the surprise?  
Luckily Neal fell asleep, his worried mind now at ease, while they were still silently debating on what to do and for now they didn't have to spoil the surprise.   
Each of them placed a loving kiss on the top of Neal's head before they left the room and walked down the stairs. 

Just a couple of minutes after they had returned downstairs, the doorbell rang.   
Elizabeth opened it to reveal Sara, holding a big teddy in her arms, and her mother standing behind her.   
“Hello Mrs. Burke, I have a teddy for Neal.”  
Sara greeted politely and Elizabeth was touched by the fact that the little girl obviously cared a lot about Neal.   
“That's very kind of you, Sara. Unfortunately, Neal is sleeping right now.”  
Elizabeth informed her and the girl's face fell but it quickly lightened up again when Elizabeth invited both her and her mother inside.   
They got some coffee for the adults and a glass of juice for Sara before they sat down at the kitchen table.   
Both Peter and Elizabeth saw this as a great opportunity to get to know both their foster child’s friend better but also her mother.   
All of the sudden Sara's mother turned to her daughter with a questioning look and Sara nodded as if her mother had telepathically asked her a question.   
Her mother then turned to the adults again.   
“Sara actually had something to tell you.”  
She informed them before prompting her daughter to talk.   
“Neal saved me so I have to save him back.”  
Elizabeth felt confused by the child's sweet and noble words and a look at Peter told her that he was equally confused about what Sara meant.   
“Neal didn't fall of the jungle gym, he was pushed.”  
“Who pushed him?”  
Peter asked and Elizabeth would have laughed about how quickly her husband went into FBI mode if she hadn't gotten such a bad feeling in her stomach.  
“There's a boy that's been really mean to Neal.”  
They tried to get a name out of Sara but the girl clammed up and her mother explained that Sara wouldn't even tell her what the boy's name was.  
Her daughter was obviously afraid to tell them which made Elizabeth wonder if Neal was just as scared as her.   
It would explain why the boy hadn't told them what was going on in school even if it was clearly upsetting him.   
The time flew by and Sara refused to say another word about school until it was time for them to leave.   
Just before she walked out the door, she grabbed Elizabeth's hand to get her attention.   
“Please tell Neal that if he tells the truth, I will talk too.”  
Sara then let go of her hand and followed her mother outside without another word, leaving the Burkes alone to wonder what on earth could be going on in that school.


	36. Chapter 36

CHAPTER 36

The first thing that Neal became aware of when he woke up, was the uncomfortable feeling in his arm.   
It didn't exactly hurt, it was just a very uncomfortable, strange feeling.   
He looked over at his arm, that had been propped up on a big pillow, and grimaced as he realized that today hadn't been just a dream, like he had hoped.   
Neal slowly got out of the bed, careful not to accidently jostle his injured wrist.   
He then made his way downstairs in search for Peter or Elizabeth and soon he heard both of their voices from the kitchen.   
He would have thought that one of them would have gone back to work by now but apparently, they had both decided to stay at home, which made Neal feel both happy that they were willing to stay home with him and a little guilty since it was because of him that they were missing their important work.   
The adults were clearly in the middle of a discussion but he couldn't really make out all of their words, if only he could sneak a little closer then he would be able to hear them better.   
Satchmo's sudden bark caused Neal to jump and the conversation in the kitchen to end before Neal had the chance to get closer.   
The dog rushed over to Neal and happily greeted his little friends, completely unaware of the fact that he had ruined the boy's plan to eavesdrop.   
“Hey sweetie.”  
Elizabeth greeted as the adults emerged from the kitchen to see what the dog was barking at.   
“Are you hungry?”  
Shen then asked and when Neal responded with a nod, she disappeared into the kitchen again to fix something for him to eat.   
Peter nodded towards the couch and Neal turned around to see a big, fluffy teddy sitting on the couch.   
“Your friend Sara was here and she left a gift for you.”  
Neal walked over to the couch and grabbed the teddy that smelled of the perfume that Sara's mother used to wear.   
He hugged the teddy tightly to his chest while feeling a little bummed over the fact that he had missed his friend's visit.   
Elizabeth soon returned with a sandwich and a glass of juice and Neal put the teddy on the chair next to him before sitting down and starting to eat his sandwich. 

Neal quickly noticed that the adults were acting weird, they were trying to be discrete but it was obvious to Neal that they were having one of their silent conversations.   
They were also glancing over at Neal once in a while, looking like they really wanted to say something but were waiting for him to finish eating.   
He tried to eat his sandwich as slowly as possible, not sure if he would like whatever they wanted to talk about.  
Eventually he finished his sandwich and just like he had expected, Peter suggested that they moved to the couch since they wanted to talk to him.  
Neal didn't see any other choice than to nod, grab his teddy and then walk over to the couch.   
He thought back to the last week or two, trying to remember if he had done something bad or something that the adults didn't approve of.   
“Don't worry bud, you're not in trouble.”  
Peter told him as if the agent could read his thoughts and Neal felt slightly calmer as he sat down in the middle with Peter and Elizabeth on each side of him.  
It was quiet for a couple of seconds, the adults were having yet another one of their silent conversations, before Elizabeth finally told him what this was all about.   
“We had a little conversation with Sara when she was here and she told us what really happened at the jungle gym today.”  
Neal looked down at his teddy, not daring to look them in the eyes, while wondering why Sara would tell them about it and put him in a situation where he was more or less forced to talk.   
“Sara also told me that if you talk then she would talk too.”  
He looked up at Elizabeth again, not believing her words since Sara had been one of the kids that had been the most afraid, but he didn't see any signs that she was lying.   
If it was true that Sara would talk too then it would seem more believable and if they talked then maybe more kids would dare to talk.  
That was really all that he need to finally let this weight of his shoulders because he was getting real tired of carrying it.   
“Curtis pushed me off the jungle gym.”  
“Curtis? Isn't that the kid that you pushed?”  
Peter asked and Neal nodded.   
“He's been really mean to me, he's mean to everybody. On my first day he tripped me and he told everyone to not play with me, then he made a girl cry and tripped her that's why I pushed him and then today he was mean to Sara on the jungle gym and I went up there to save her and that's when he pushed me.”  
Neal rambled on until he ran out of breath and he didn't even notice that tears had started to roll down his cheeks, until he stopped rambling.   
The adults stayed silent as they took in everything that he had told them and then he was suddenly lifted up from his seat and placed in Peter's lap.   
The agent put an arm around him and Neal leaned against his chest, finding comfort in being close to Peter, while Elizabeth gently grabbed his good hand.   
“Why didn't you tell us before, honey?”  
“Curtis' mom is the principal and she kicks kids out of school if they try to tell the truth.”  
The adults looked at each other and Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief before she established eye contact with Neal again.  
“Oh honey, she can't do that.”  
“She can't?”  
“No.”  
Neal suddenly felt very stupid for believing the lie, especially since he had questioned it in the beginning.

Neal had thought that Peter would have been the one to go into full agent mode and call the school but instead it was Elizabeth who went into a protective mama bear mode and called the principal, talking to her in a calm but angry tone.  
Neal was sitting in Peter's lap, the man rubbing his back in a comforting matter, while they both watched Elizabeth pace.   
Eventually the call ended and the anger disappeared from her face and was replaced with a caring, loving look.   
“She's going to talk to Curtis and we're going to a meeting at the school tomorrow.”  
Neal smiled at the thought of the bully finally getting consequences for his actions and the rest of the kids finally getting the safe school environment that they deserved.   
Elizabeth sat down on the couch again and grabbed his good hand, placing a gentle kiss on it.   
“Sweetie, I want you to know that you can come to us with anything. It doesn't matter what it is, just please tell us if something's wrong, alright?”  
She told him and the genuine caring look on her face made him want to cry over the fact that he had ever been stupid enough to believe that they wouldn't believe him.   
“We will always be there for you and help you with anything.”  
Peter chimed in and Neal didn't think that he could talk to them without starting to cry like a little baby, so he just nodded.   
“How about we eat some ice cream and watch a movie?”  
Peter suggested and Neal nodded again.

With a big bowl of ice cream, a warm blanket wrapped around his body, the 101 Dalmatians playing on the TV, a big fluffy dog on the floor and with one adult on each side of him, Neal felt more cozy and safe than ever before.   
Neal glanced up at the adults and smiled as he realized that he had two people and a dog that would do everything they could to protect him from all the evils in the world.   
He had never had that before, not even his mother had protected him from his father.   
Neal didn't believe that this would last forever, he knew better than to believe that something this good could last forever, but he was determined to enjoy this as long as he possibly could.  
“Thank you.”  
He said and both of the adults looked down at him, with a slightly confused expression on their faces.   
“For what, kiddo?”  
“For protecting me and taking care of me and for making me happy.”  
Neal saw how both Peter and Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears and then Peter put his arm around him while Elizabeth leaned over and kissed him on the top of his head.   
“Thank you for making us happy.”  
Elizabeth answered.


End file.
